Traditions Shared

We have neighbors now, which is a fantastic thing.  Living in your neighborhood without the "neighbor" part is not nearly as much fun.  We have interesting neighbors, fun neighbors, quirky neighbors and even a neighbor we talk about in hushed voices because we never see him come or go and, "what the heck is that guy doing in his house?"  But for the most part, it's great neighbors and good times.

Our next-door neighbors have become fast friends with us.  They have two children who are twelve and thirteen.  They like our children and we like their children.  Right now, their children are watching my children.  They both have their baby sitting certificates and I ask from time to time if one of them can come help.  Today, they both wanted to come help.  Apparently (so their mother told me) they had an argument that ended by them deciding to both come over.

So if that wasn't wonderful enough of a family, they decided to include us in their celebration of Rosh Hashanah yesterday.  Admittedly, I am quite ignorant of Jewish traditions and religious beliefs but we were made to feel welcome and just included with nothing other than the thought that, "you are our friends, this is important to us and we want to share our happiness with you."

Yesterday, they came over with apples and honey and we ate this sweet so that we would all have a sweet upcoming year.  Need I even tell you how much my children loved dipping apples in the honey?  They also brought over some of their sweet kugel, which I ate and ate from for the rest of the day.

They had to go off to put bread into a river for another tradition that I forgot the name of after teaching me how to say, "happy new year" in Hebrew or, "Shanah Tovah".  It was very special to be included in our friends celebration.  It's so nice to have great friends.

The Big Boy Update:  "I like bugs."  This was not a statement of his preference for bugs, but the name of the book he pulled out of the cabinet.  He is starting to do that thing where he knows what the book says on the page without knowing how to read.  We got him some more stage one readers today because he's been enjoying them so much.

The Tiny Girl Chronicles:  "I want a pony."  Yes, she said this to me.  I couldn't help but laugh after I asked her to repeat what she said and she, very clearly, said the same thing again.  Isn't she a little young for the, "I want a pony mommy, pleeease?" stage?

Fitness Update:  Five miles, not the long run we had planned but something.