week 5/24

My Jewish History, Part Two

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Before I had kids, things seemed so simple. My husband and I combined what we were already doing religiously. On the High Holidays and Passover, he usually went to work, so there was no conflict. At work, he ate what he wanted, and at home, we continued to eat matzo. It was the same when the kids were born. That is, until he began working from home, but we continued to make it work as we blended our two religions with our children.

Our wedding was an interfaith ceremony as well. We were married under a chuppah or canopy. We had a Rabbi and a Priest. We (my spouse) broke the glass, which represents the remembering of the destruction of the temples in Jerusalem. We celebrated Christmas and Easter with my in-laws, and the Jewish holidays and Thanksgiving with my family. This continued after our kids were born.

After we were married, we continued to celebrate the Jewish holidays with my family. We also celebrated Thanksgiving with my family and then went to my husband’s family for Christmas and Easter. Thanksgiving somehow felt Jewish to me. It wasn’t overly religious, especially if your family didn’t go to church. I also felt that it was inclusive of all traditions. No one was left out. Now, I realize today that when I thought that I wasn’t thinking about the Indigenous people who we peripherally celebrate on that day as well, but to me as a Jewish person, it was the one holiday that I wasn’t left out of things. It became a bigger holiday for me, and for my kids.

When my kids were born, I knew that they would be raised in both faiths and celebrating both sets of holidays – Jewish on my side and Catholic on my husband’s side. Even though he and his family weren’t religious, they still celebrated Christmas and Easter in his family, and we continued that with our kids.

We would travel from our home in upstate New York to our families: mine for Thanksgiving, which my in-laws would attend, and his for Christmas. We would still see my parents during that time, but the primary celebration was spending Christmas Eve at my in-laws and spending the night. We didn’t begin to stay at our own home on the holidays until we had a house and wanted the kids to wake up there on Christmas morning.

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Organizing for Writers

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You would think I’d be an expert on this but needs change and so does organization. Looking around the piles of files and notebooks around where I’m working, I wonder if this is something I should be giving advice on. I think that most of us, while not great at taking our own advice, are in fact, great at giving it. Some of the following suggestions are things that I’ve done and have worked, and some are things that I’m planning on implementing. It’s still January, so there’s still a bit of time before those New Year’s Resolutions go the way of the mastodon. Or Dodo Bird, whichever fits your fancy.

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Music Rec – Camdenmusique

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I was scrolling Threads and I came across a pianist playing an original composition called Emotional Intelligence – Rework and I was enthralled. For me, as a writer, I thought it was a wonderful piece to play as I wrote (and I wasn’t the only one to think so). I checked out his website, and wanted to share his music and his talent with you.

His name is Camden Bonsu-Stewart from London, and I’ve put a short playlist from Spotify on my sidebar.

He can be found on his website, on Threads, and on Spotify. His website will direct you to his other social media accounts.

Post by @camdenmusique
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