Good Food, Good People, Good Pesach...

The Seder Plate (someday we will get an 'official' seder plate!).  Horseradish, Charoset, Egg, Lamb Shank, Parsley

We had a lovely Passover seder on Monday night. I could tell Mom really wanted to celebrate Passover and try to have company, but I had still been feeling miserable and exhausted after the surgery (plus a trip down to see Dr. Complex last week). I don't know how to explain how my body rallied to be able to enjoy Monday evening, except that it was like our own little Passover miracle. Our home was filled with much needed celebration.

On a more secular note, Sunday night Mom and I made a wish on wish bone she had dried from a chicken we had eaten. When we snapped it, the top piece went flying in the air leaving neither one of us with the 'bigger half'. According to eHow this meant both of us got our wishes, and I'm quite certain what we both wished for was a good Pesach on Monday night!

Jeannine and Mamma S. (As she calls my mom. :))

Instead of writing a lengthy post on our seder, I took a bunch of fun photos of our celebration. Jeannine said she wondered how we would ever have our lives documented if it wasn't for me always snapping photos. She was, of course, one of our guests and always loves celebrating the Jewish holidays with us. 

Our Childrens' Haggadah

This is the Haggadah we use to tell the story of Passover. Yes, you are seeing that right. It is a children's version because a traditional seder is many more hours than I could manage. Passover is always one of my favorite holidays to celebrate. I love the food, I love the rituals, and I love the story. We are able to engage in many of the holiday traditions right in our own home for this holiday, compared to other holidays spent in synagogue. The Passover story with its themes of freedom, suffering, and redemption resonate with me on a very personal level. 

Me and Mom

Mom and I did not plan to match, but we do! :)

And...the Afikomen was under the hamper!

One of the fun traditions of Passover is searching for the Afikomen which is a piece of hidden matzo. Mom isn't known for finding clever hiding places, but Jeannine discovered the Afikomen under my hamper! Good job, Mom! The tradition calls for the youngest child to search for the Afikomen (which would have been Jeannine), but we both went looking.

Can't wait to do these crafts with Jeannine! My mom is so clever!

After the child finds the Afikomen they get a present. Mom was super clever this year and found me and Jeannine some super easy crafts to do! We are soooo excited about these, as everything we have tried so far has been too complicated or taken too much physical energy for me. These are just our speed (I think they are made for 5 year olds?). 

Pink bubbles. :)

Mom added in a bottle of pink colored bubbles for me. :) 

Me and Barbara

Our other guest was our dear neighbor and friend Barbara. She also wore blue. It seems Jeannine was the only on who missed the memo on the dress code. :) This was Barbara's first seder experience and we were so happy to have her!

Seriously decadent French Silk Chocolate Macaroon Pie.

On Sunday, I was able to help Mom make this really decadent French Silk Chocolate Macaroon Pie. My job was to crumble all of the macaroons (very therapeutic), rest,  and then return to combine the coconut milk and chocolate. The pie is seriously good! My favorite Passover foods, though, are also the tzimmes and charoset. 

The evening ends with dessert...

We had such a wonderful evening of ritual, friends, and food. Sharing the holidays makes them so much more joyous for us. I'm so thankful to Mom for her gentle encouragement that we do something special for Passover this year. I have been feeling so weary, tired, sad and overwhelmed. With Mom's gentle encouragement, I rested on Sunday and Monday, while she filled the house with the smells of Passover foods. When I woke up on Monday morning to the smell of the tzimmes (sweet potatoes, dried fruit, cinnamon, maple syrup, etc.), my heart filled with gratitude for Mom, for the food, for the celebration in the midst of such a difficult year, and for the gift of some non-medical time together. I'm amazed at the celebration Mom created in the midst of all that has been going on lately, even down to the pink bubbles! 

Happy Passover to those of you who celebrate, and a Blessed Easter to those of you in the midst of Holy Week right now...

Emily