The kids were SO excited to get back to school. The day before classes began, we could go meet the teachers, and I couldn't pry the kids away from the school and their friends. They were SO happy to be back. Koby is now in third grade, Elie in fourth and Sam in seventh.
We started school on a Thursday and then immediately jumped into a long weekend with a bank holiday on Monday. We took a mini staycation and visited the Churchill War Rooms (SUPER cool) and ate at Din Tai Fung - the boys, Matt and I SUPER enjoyed that. Sam read a book.
After that first quick week, Sam and I went back to Boston to celebrate Charlotte's bat mitzvah. It was a super quick trip - arrived on Friday afternoon and left on Sunday evening - but it was wonderful. Charlotte did beautifully, the party was fun, weather was amazing, and we got to see lots of people we love. Thank you AGAIN to Nancy and David for letting us stay in their house - even though they weren't even there - they were in Greece.
I read torah at Charlotte's bm, the next week in our shul and on Yom Kippur - and now I have to learn what I'm reading for Sam's BM. Trying to read as much as I can, and I love it. The Yom Kippur trope is different, so that was a new and exciting experience. I have now read aicha (Lamentations, on tisha b'av), megillat esther, regular torah, haftorah and high holidays. I am going to try British torah trope soon, and maybe one day I'll do shir ha'shirim.
We had a few HOT weeks in London. I'm sure you recall from last winter that our home is not insulated. And we obviously have no air con - no one really does here. The top floor is basically a shack with thin walls and a thin roof - so we ROASTED. Luckily we had fans, and the bottom two floors were OK - especially the bottom (Sam's level). Our middle level w the thermostat stayed around 26-28 C (78-83). Vomit. But we survived.
We had back to school nights for all of the kids - and again - each time we have an interaction with the school, we are BLOWN away. So so impressed. Their teachers are amazing. The kids are truly thriving.
Kids' activities started. Elie is doing two football teams and a football practice. That's football (soccer) with school with practice once a week and matches every other week, football (soccer) with a local league with practice two hours once a week and matches usually every week AND American football practice for an hour. He's also doing cheder (Hebrew School) on Sundays and he has after school activities at school twice a week: chess and fencing on Mondays and parkour and stay&play on Wednesdays. Koby is doing football (soccer) with school and American football, cheder, and after school he does Minecraft, parkour and stay&play (but not with Elie, obviously - at different times). Sam is doing drama games one day, practicing their stuff for their b'mitzvah, doing lots of homework and bringing a kid home two days a week. I have managed to organize walking carpools to football two days a week, and the other two I just take them (it is mind boggling to me that people don't want to coordinate and prefer to pick their kid up and walk them 20 minutes to football each week - WHY?). I walk WAAAAAY too much. I do about 130,000-170,000 steps per week, about 18K -24K per day - but yesterday I had over 37,000 steps. Too much.
I have tried to embrace not working. I am looking at a friend's non-profit and will be helping her to grow it, so that's one useful thing to think about. I'm also organizing the logistics for a big school event in the fall, so I get to work with more spreadsheets and power point slides for that. And if work dropped in my lap, I probably wouldn't say no, but in the meantime, I am making efforts to build relationships with people, trying to see London, playing a LOT more tennis and enjoying that my back hurts less than it did last year.
My back was a huge part of my year last year - it hurts so so so much. I was in constant pain, and it affected me everyday. I had two steroid injections. I went to physio every week. I did exercises every day. Walking, standing, lying down...everything hurt. It woke me up a lot. Miserable. I noticed that when we went to Italy in June it hurt less. Then we went to the US for the summer, and it continued to hurt less. My physio had suggested I stop playing tennis, running...basically stop everything. But I noticed that when I had less activity, it didn't make a difference, so I didn't listen to him. In Michigan I did A LOT. See previous posts, but I played tennis, pickleball, rode my bike, ran, etc. and it hurt LESS. We got back to London, and it started hurting A LOT again. It hurt a lot in the morning. My physio said that was bc it is inflammation, which hurts more in the morning. Ok. But I felt it in my hips and back a lot in the morning. So we flipped around our mattress AND swapped sides of the bed. It hurts LESS! I can't believe it, but it's been way better. The last few days it has started to hurt more - so I'm not as excited as I was, but it's still better. Let's see what happens. (I'd like to get a new bed, but did you know that the bed sizes here are different than those in the US? So our bed frame will be a bit off...)
We had really nice high holidays. We hosted a Rosh Hashana dinner with friends from Michigan. First day lunch we went to new friends from shul. She's from Mt Pleasant (??) MI, and he's from Spain, and they're both lovely, as are their two children who are a girl a few years older than Sam and a boy a year older than Elie. Our kids played together so nicely, and we got to partake in a sephardic rosh hashana seder. It was neat!
For Yom Kippur we had our good friend Naomi from Singapore with us - she is here for work - and that was a huge bonus. We had a lovely break fast at Stephanie and Brad's with another family.
Shul was actually lovely. I just love our rabbi so much, and the shul is a lovely place - and the services are great. They're pretty much full services, not skipping anything, but not dragging it out. It's not a performance - it's leading for everyone to be a part. It's not just an "amen" at the end. And it feels really inclusive. I had an aliyah on rosh hashana and opened the ark and read torah on yom kippur - lots of people are up and down the bimah. It's just lovely.
I am also working on getting my British driver's license. If you live here, your American license is only valid for one year, so I studied and passed the technical test a few weeks ago, and I need to book a practical test. I had my first instruction earlier this week. I drove all around for two hours. My instructor said I was great! Apparently you have to study to pass the test - not actually learn how to drive. They mark you down for lots of weird things, so I'm likely to fail. AND I can't even get an appointment. Since I started looking a few days ago, I have searched multiple times per day, and there are ZERO tests in London. I will sign on at 6am on Monday, and I am told I will get a test in March or April. WTF. See this article for context.
The boys and I have been biking everywhere. We got lights for their bikes so we can bike home in the evening and when it gets dark early. It is life changing to bike. We biked to the boys' football games in King's Cross for the last two weekends - this past weekend Matt even came with us. It's a 15 minute bike ride or 50 mins by tube/walk bc of where it is specifically. I am super grateful for biking, and it's such a great way to see London. The boys are so brave. Love it.
Matt has been away this week in Nigeria and Ghana, and we have him back for a week before he's gone in Boston for another week. Then he's gone the first two weeks of Nov and the first week of Dec - so single parenting is in full swing.
We have bought tickets to a few things so as the weather changes, we have things to look forward to. I am trying to make friends. Kids are happy. Matt is doing great. And I'm working on this being a better year for me. So far so better.
Pics. As always, not perfect order but close :)
Matt took the boys to watch the Michigan game at the bar. They found the dog. Go Blue!
Elie and his friend Ray came up with a plan to make and sell popsicles on the SUPER hot days. Here they sold on the triangle opposite our house (the pretty tree behind them is the start of our mews), and opposite a school and on a common walk for people getting kids from school. On Friday after school they sold 40 GBP worth of popsicles!! Koby and Elie's other friend Aden helped out. They then took their talents to Hampstead Heath on the weekend and made 94 GBP!!! (see pic below)
Koby's football match last weekend at King's Cross.
Matt and I went on a canal cruise with some new ASL families. SUPER nice people. Hurray
Din Tai Fung. Sam just couldn't believe their luck. Boys ate a lot.
Sam and I on Nancy and David's porch. We love that porch.
Elie and Ray in the Heath.
I saw that a highly rated play, Next to Normal was starring Caissey Levy, who was a few years younger than me at Camp Ramah in Canada (she was also the first Elsa on Broadway and has had MANY starring Broadway roles). I scored a ticket for last weekend, but I didn't get a chance to tell her hi - they told me to wait outside, but then the cast went out another doorway.
Elie REALLY wanted to make his own sushi.
Koby enlisted his friend to carry his and Elie's bags on the way home (I did not allow this, but it was funny).
Elie and Koby reconnecting with Marshal (and Memphis) after the summer
Koby's leg was weak after his cast, and he had a hard time walking from the bus or tube back to our house. Sam helped.
Sam with their friends for the first time this year. So happy to reconnect.
First day of school pic
I got to see the Indigo Girls! What a treat!!
We decided to prioritize ping pong over family dinners, and we play a lot. Especially Elie. He's super good.
The only (bad!) pic I got at Churchill War Rooms. What a cool place - it's the actual place where decisions were made in WWII
Gardens opposite the Churchill War Rooms in St James Park - UNBELIEVABLE
The dahlias!! It was truly unbelievable
Elie involved in the Roosevelt Churchill negotiations
Quick stop at Uniqlo
Sam was so excited for the red bean bao!
NOT. they would never touch it. They just wanted to stab it with a chopstick.
Sam and I went shopping in Boston and filled an entire duffle with food to bring back
At Susie's garden
Susie at Susie's garden - what a gift to spend time with her
me and Sarah at Charlotte's BM party
I bought dahlias every week they were in season, because they make me happy
The rose garden in Regent's Park OUT OF SEASON is still beautiful!!
Sam was going to a birthday party from school on a friday. Sam goes to school themself. I happen to see them as I was dropping off the boys, and I said, "Sam - didn't you leave the house with a birthday present in your hands? Where is it?" "OH SHOOT!!!!! I DON'T KNOW!!! But I walked down Queens Grove to go get Spencer for school." So I walked down Queens Grove, and sure enough, someone had found it, put it up on a garden wall, and left it. (I later found out it was Spencer's MOM!). Birthday present saved!!!
Popsicle stand in action. Selling to a dad and kid/s
I thought this contract on Elie's locker was particularly special. He's very good friends with Isaac, his lockermate.
Rosh Hashana dinner!
Rosh Hashana pile up
Sam taking selfies with a tallit at their BM rehearsal
Koby's reading diary of a wimpy kid, but it looks like he's davening with a siddur. Sam is practicing.
Matt and I went to see Mike Birbiglia at a beautiful theater (Whyndam's Theater?). NIGHT OUT!!!
Beautiful walk through Primrose Hill while on the phone with Caroline in Newton :)
