Seder

The second seder just ended. The first night we had eleven people in our house. We started doing both seders years ago, when my mom first got sick and couldn't prepare for them anymore. Not being overly religious, but still keeping Kosher makes it hard on the holidays. There is no where to eat but home. Yesterday's seder was hard. It was the first seder with my mom gone. We have only missed spending the holiday's together twice. Both times she was in the hospital and although she was very sick I had hopes of being with her next year. Last year my brother-in-law said he had a feeling that seder would be her last. As I was cooking yesterday, I was sorry that I had started. It just didn't feel right celebrating the holiday without her. My kids and husband love the holiday and I did not want them to miss it. We picked my dad up early and sat around for hours talking and watching tv. My sister-in-law and her family soon joined us. Everyone felt mom's presence even though she was not there. My dad started out the evening sad but once we started we got into the swing of things he had a good time. The highlight of our evening was "Uncle" Herman. Herman is a 90 year old man we've gotten to know from our dinner's at Grimaldi's. Herman sits at the bar every night, eats a little, drinks a little and passes the time talking to everyone. It is a tradition of the holiday to invite people who have no where to go and we have been following this tradition for years. This was just the first time we invited someone we really did not know at all. Herman has outlived most of his family and friends and now goes from house to house celebrating holidays with people he meets at the bar. I'm glad he decided to join us this year. He's already invited himself back for next year and we won't be leary about his coming then. The second night's seder was much easier. First, I was not as tired as we ate left overs from the first night. Second, it was smaller. Our only guests were my cousin and his wife. They were a calming influence. They worried about getting here from New Jersey, the Pope at Yankee Stadium was supposed to play havoc on traffic. Thankfully they left really early, avoiding the traffic and were were able to have a nice visit before the seder started.

Everything is put away and cleaned. There are plenty of leftovers so I won't have to cook again for quite a few days. Thank goodness for paper plates. Now, to rest and enjoy the rest of the vacation.