Grief is so physically exhausting.

I truly is. I'm sorry, Steph. Comfort to your family.

I'd thought I wouldn't get to visit a sukkah this year, because between my schedule this week, and a bunch of sukkahs in inaccessible places, it just wouldn't work out, but Chabad set up a mini sukkah on campus, near my office, so I went to that one, which was nice.

One of my fondest memories of the All of a Kind Family books was the sukkah they built.

I actually do have room on my back porch to build a small sukkah, I think. I wasn't organized enough for it this year, but maybe next year. They sell sukkah kits that work kind of like those pop-up tents.

Four of the rabbi's sons (the oldest maybe 10 or so) were at the sukkah. One of them, a boy who looked about five, asked if he could lead me in the blessings. I didn't need the help -- I know the blessings -- but he looked so proud of being able to do it, so I let him tell me the words one at a time and I repeated each one, and told him he did a very good job. Then his older brother criticized my lulav-shaking technique.

I remember years ago reading about a man who grew perfect citrons for this. He'd baby them and get them to grow very large and PERFECT. He would have his workers put in a little note saying, "this citron picked especially for you by (name)". Until he started getting a lot of migrant workers and realized that having the note signed "Jesus" might not be the best idea for his Jewish customers.

One of them, a boy who looked about five, asked if he could lead me in the blessings. I didn't need the help -- I know the blessings -- but he looked so proud of being able to do it, so I let him tell me the words one at a time and I repeated each one, and told him he did a very good job. Then his older brother criticized my lulav-shaking technique.

That's the most adorable thing I've heard all week.

It was very cute. (Chabad Houses in places outside NYC or LA or Israel generally tend to be run by young married couples, and people within Chabad tend to have a ton of kids, so a Chabad House rabbi with a whole lot of pre-teen kids is pretty common. This family said that they had six sons, and four of them were there. I think they usually send the older kids to NYC or Israel for high school, to live with relatives there.)

Until he started getting a lot of migrant workers and realized that having the note signed "Jesus" might not be the best idea for his Jewish customers.

LOL!

So, remember that critical math final, the one that decided if I'm starting the MPA program next week or not?

I've passed!

(And now trying to remember how to breath again and how to process success after living most of the last three months in a bulb of stress, and do this before Sunday, when grad school starts).

Congrats, Shir!