Aprez Passover, 2015

Actually, it is only the beginning of day 3 of Passover and by "aprez" I mean after the first two days and the two Seders. Seder 1 was lovely at the home of a friend and Seder 2 was good, too, at my house. I got a lot of help from Diane and as this was our third seder that we hosted things went pretty well as we worked well as a team.

At this year's seder I asked only that people bring wine and I cooked, as did Diane, all the foods (except Diane's friend Lorna brought the primary desserts as they don't drink wine and she does desserts VERY well!), The main course was was brisket which came out well and there was gefilte fish and matzah ball soup and egg soup and kugels (sweet noodle and potato) as well as broccoli and a salad. It WAS a lot of work but I was very happy doing it and it went very well in terms of coordination and collaboration. As is my mantra: no one went hungry and no one reported any food-poisoning.

The "adult" seder was comfortable and there were lots of questions and discussions as well as basic movement through the haggadah.

One question raised was: Do I have any unanswered questions about Passover? To that question I wondered - how do I really feel the commanded feelings: view yourself as if it was you who went out from Egypt?

Michael brought up the issue of the NARROW space though which we live our lives. We are constricted and less then free as we might be. What does that mean to us in our daily lives? An old song ends with a verse: "Freedom is a work I rarely use when I'm thinking --- of the times when I've been loved." That thought is most interesting all the time for me. I am loved and I love and I am free and I wonder about freedom and doing all the things it is possible for me to do. Things that I, especially I, can do!! Traveling and being still and volunteering (here or there?) and playing and reading and consuming and building and maybe producing and GENERALLY IMPROVING MYSELF are all possibilities for me. I do not have to restrict, constrict, or otherwise limit myself, really!

The idea of Generally Improving Myself - GIMing me -- refers mostly, today, to my physical, medical self. I need to lose weight, gain muscular strength, and regain flexibility. AND I CAN DO THAT! -- I do work out most days (with breaks for health or travels). I CAN eat better! I can stretch and walk more. SO .....

And this is Aprez (after) Passover (the first two days), 2015.