Well, 36 years is not a little thing. Sometimes, getting through one day is a humongous miracle.
Seriously.
And the problem with any passage of time is that it just happens. Unless we do something to mark it, then it just flows like the ocean, tides in and out, waves fierce and calm, but basically just always there. So that’s the idea of holiday, marking time in a special way to make it unique, memorable, and then able to build on the memories.
We wanted to get married. Our family had to tell us when would be a good time for them to come to Israel 36 years ago. My BIL was at Harvard Law at the time, and this was the time he had available to travel. It was, apparently, not so good for my siblings, but no one informed us of that at the time. Sorry about that. Really. So we chose what turned into a wonderful time to get married in Jerusalem that year, coinciding with MLK Day in America.
Here’s something I just learned—
Bonus fact: MLK’s birthday became a holiday in 1986, but some states were slow to adopt it. It would not be celebrated in all 50 states until 2000, and Mississippi celebrates it in conjunction with the birthday of Confederate General Robert E. Lee, born January 19, 1807.
The fact that it is a national holiday has been advantageous for us since then to make it into a 3-day personal holiday, and we try to get away every year.
We have tried to go away every year, certainly since the kids have been out of the house, and then also for a number of times before that. Mostly we go up north. I wrote about our adventure two years ago here. Last year, we were tied into shul obligations, so we were stuck here for then.
Is it ironic or is it funny that we would rather leave our very comfortable home and go away for a few days? Why don’t we just stay put and “take a few days off”? And can you ever get away, with instant access everywhere these days?
Yes and yes and yes.
So this year, since ISHI is obligated due to his father’s passing to go to shul and say kaddish for him, we are confined to go to areas with Orthodox shuls. Not so much up north in New England, unfortunately. Plus, D#1 asked us to babysit this Sunday night for an occasion that they must attend. Their little one still doesn’t do babysitters so much, but he does THANK G-D tolerate us, so could we come?
Yes and yes! So we’ll start off with family and then go into Manhattan for a few days, hit the museums, hit a couple of nice kosher restaurants (any suggestions?), and let the good times roll on.
I still have to figure out what to pack. Always such a good dilemma!
Photos, hopefully, to follow.
But Mostly Hers 