July 15, 2016- Sarasota, FL
It happened again. As soon as we all gathered around the table and lit the candles my mother and mother-in-law began singing the blessings. Their faces lit up. They both have a form of dementia and my mom’s has progress further, but trust me this is no disease that requires competition. We start our dinners promptly at 5:30. My girlfriend, Kala, reflected how early in the day that actually is but the moms fade off by seven. I have never done anything so promptly. Bringing the moms some semblance of delight on Friday nights seems to be worth the change in my own behaviors and that of my friends and family’s to get Shabbat dinners underway.
But something else fascinating happened this time. As I live amongst men in my household they each have adopted interesting Shabbat rituals. For example my brother-in-law, Mitch, helps prepare the table by placing the chairs geometrically proportional to each other. He has also discovered a delicious appetizer to create using the fresh basil from our box garden. My husband, Steve, yanked the orange tablecloth from one of the tables as he was quite bothered by the numerous wrinkles and felt compelled to iron it. Then there’s our son, Jake, who joined in the Shabbat spirit by sorting the forks which over the course of the week get tossed anywhere in the drawer. So the house was abuzz with a bevy of Shabbat preparation. I simply watched, smiled and felt pleased that each person in the household took a specific personal role in Shabbat prep. It was charming and sweet, and trust me, we were all heavily jabbing each other with our sarcastic comments.
Dinner guests: the two moms & Jasmine Mongeon (caregiver), Jamie & Dr. Neil Warren, Ken, Kala, Karley Sheckler, Steve, Noreen, & Carson Berger, Everett Couto, Sam & daughter, Mia Schneider, Steve, myself, Jake & Uncle Mitch
Topics discussed around the Shabbat table:
Past parties, Mia’s upcoming Bat-Mitzvah, Israel, the new rabbi at Temple Emanu-el, and stories that made you laugh
Dinner: Jamie made delicious salmon in a bag, Kala brought the fresh green beans, Noreen made her famous potato kugel, I grilled onions and broccoli, Sam concocted the vegan Shabbat cleansing salad. For an upgrade this Shabbat, we progressed to Jamie’s dessert house to indulge ourselves with the satisfying homemade chocolate ice cream cake, cheesecake, chocolate chip cookies and of course, and fruit, but we were all quite mesmerized by the wonders of the Krups coffee maker. In addition, we admired the recent bathroom and flooring updates, continued good conversation about appliances, remodels, vacations, and tried the jiggly weight loss machine that made us all laugh. Tali, Sam’s wife, was able to join us and share Miais Israeli pre-Bat mitzvah party pictures with us! It wasn’t until the last minute that politics popped up because our son Jake shared with me yesterday that while he will show up to vote in November, he will not cast a vote for president. This prompted a lively discussion amongst us.
It was a sweet Shabbat celebrated well.