Rosh Hashana

We always go "home" to Michigan for Rosh Hashana - at least when it's not the heat of a pandemic. We do one dinner with Matt's family and one dinner with my family. Usually we even go to shul one day with each family. It's nice. 

I have gone to TE in Newton for high holidays, usually Yom Kippur, since we moved to Boston. No one said hello to me. I didn't know anyone. When I caught someone's eye, almost no one said Shana Tova - they almost always looked away. I usually went alone anyways, and even though I knew some people from kids going to Hebrew School there, I never saw any of those people in shul on high holidays. I truly hated it. It felt so so impersonal and DEFINITELY not like my community. I didn't dress like them. I just felt like I so didn't belong in that community - they (not the shul, but the people) were all set and didn't need new people. I somehow lived there for 7 years and went to that shul for almost all of it, and it was really so not my thing. And I am someone who really appreciates shul and Jewish community. (Until I found Minyan Maor - but I didn't get to go there for High Holidays, since I connected with them during sukkot before the pandemic and then again last December.)

On the contrary, the New London Synagogue was SO SUPER nice. People were so friendly and nice. When I caught someone's eye, they smiled and said shana tova. Many people introduced themselves and asked who I was. All the kids were in the main service for part of the first day's service, and the people around us talked to them, smiled at them and told them after that they were well behaved (they were all reading their own books. They also talked a lot. They were not THAT well behaved, but we appreciated the positive feedback). I was even asked to open the aron kodesh for one part of the amidah repetition. People were dressed at all different levels of fanciness. It feels so inclusive and so not judgy. You can really feel it. And it starts from the top. At shul on shabbat, the Rabbi reminded everyone (the shabbat regulars) to include the people who only show up on RH and be welcoming. There was a note from him on every seat. It really was welcoming. The Rabbi also invited us for first day lunch, which was so so so nice. I had been connected to him from good friends of mine, Liba and Ethan, and he told me that Liba was so welcoming to him when he came to JTS in NYC, and I wonder if he is paying it forward - or perhaps he's just so super nice. Whatever the motivation, it really helped us feel included and like this Rosh Hashana was really nice.

The other nice part was dinner at our friends', Stephanie, Brad and Oscar (from our time in Singapore). It was so so nice with other families that we really like and had a lot in common with and the food was amazing. It was the type of dinner where the kids all happily go play, they actually ate the dinner and they had fun, and we had lovely adult conversation with really quality people. It was suuuuch a nice night that we so so appreciate right now as we don't really have our own friends (other than them!).

Second day we usually are with family, but this time the kids were devastated to have to miss ANY school (they really like school!), and we weren't with our family, and THEY didn't love shul. So they went to school, and Matt and I volunteered at the shul. I was a greeter and he did security. That was nice as well. 

In other news, we are working on getting out of our air bnb and into our house. We got the keys yesterday. We set up wifi. We confirmed our shipment is (hopefully!) coming Monday and Tuesday. We have to be out of here on Monday, so we booked a hotel nearby for Monday night (Samara's birthday). Step by step. We have things coming to the new house for the next few days until we move in (like a mixer, fans, instant pot, TV, drying rack, etc - things we didn't bring or couldn't bring because of the power), so I will be there a lot waiting for them to be delivered. It's a super cool space. I'll take pics today and post them.

We also met up with another good friend from Singapore and her amazing sons in Hampstead Heath on Sunday, and that was lovely. Elie and Amiel really enjoyed each other, and they're only a few months apart, born a building apart in Singapore. Quality people, and we will live near them, which is awesome. 

Random photos as usual

We went back to the Michigan bar to watch the game with other alumni. This one was stressful but fun. 5pm kick off. Same for this week. I think Michigan is gonna get clobbered when they play a real team. #overrated

A peek into our fridge. Pretty similar to what it had in the US. We really haven't had to adjust our diet at all - unlike when we moved to Singapore

Sam and I were free on Sunday am while the boys went to football, so we went to Brick Lane Market and the Flower Market, and they were amazing. Especially the flower market. Can't wait to get plants for our house.

I got dahlias to remind me of the flowers that Susie always brought me in Newton. I miss them (and her) so much.

One of Stephanie's amazing spreads (but a bad photo)

After school yesterday we had nothing to do and a few hours to stay out of the house (Matt was working at home because he had violent food poisoning the night before - not sure what it was from, but he's fine now). We went to the new house, and the three kids played all over the completely empty house. This was gymnastics practice in our new guest room.