When Rebecca gets older, she will be... something.
Shabbat services at temple tonight marked a very special occasion for me (and for Rabbi W, who is finally back in Louisiana after a trip to visit family in Israel, where he fell ill, had to be hospitalized, and worried the crap out of all of us). Today, August 10, is the one-year anniversary of my conversion to Judaism. My entry on that day is back here. It's hard to believe it's been a year already! A year ago, I never would've thought that I'd get roped into teaching Jewish Sunday School, or that I'd spend a week at a Jewish summer camp.
While I'm grateful to be Jewish and it has enriched my life in many ways, there are certain things I didn't know before I converted that I now wish I had.
The High Holy Days are right around the corner now. We're probably going to have a congregational oneg and dinner again this year, and I know a lot of people will be celebrating with their family members. That's a pretty lonely feeling. While there are several people at temple who are incredibly nice to me and treat me like family, it's not quite the same. For every single service and event at temple, I arrive by myself and leave by myself (while watching others leave in pairs and groups). I spent a week at summer camp by myself, which was hard. It makes me want to go back in time to last year and tell myself, "You do not have a single relative in this religion, and you never will."
And then there are the old Jewish ladies who occasionally try to play matchmaker for Rebecca. I know that my converting isn't to blame for me being single, but converting has definitely emphasized it. There have been a few hints dropped about how Rebecca needs to get married and start popping out Jewish babies to keep the congregation alive. UGH! It almost makes me want to haul back and smack those old Jewish ladies who get these ridiculous ideas about things that will obviously never happen.
And then there are the folks (including Rabbi W, who's a strong pusher on this issue) who think it's such a shame that Rebecca's never been to Israel and that she needs to go there. I'm not sure if they don't know where I work, or if they're under the mistaken impression that my job pays atrociously more than it actually does. I'm kinda tired of telling people that I don't qualify for Birthright Israel (although it's a wonderful program for those who do qualify). Sigh.
As an aside, I rode my bike to services tonight, which I haven't done in a while, and I'm a little embarrassed by how quickly I felt out-of-breath and exhausted. I really hope I can start bike-riding in earnest again once the weather is cooler. I pushed two little kids in my congregation (who will both be new students in religious school in the fall) around on my bike after services tonight, and they loved it.
45 DAYS LEFT UNTIL SEASON 10 OF NCIS!
While I'm grateful to be Jewish and it has enriched my life in many ways, there are certain things I didn't know before I converted that I now wish I had.
The High Holy Days are right around the corner now. We're probably going to have a congregational oneg and dinner again this year, and I know a lot of people will be celebrating with their family members. That's a pretty lonely feeling. While there are several people at temple who are incredibly nice to me and treat me like family, it's not quite the same. For every single service and event at temple, I arrive by myself and leave by myself (while watching others leave in pairs and groups). I spent a week at summer camp by myself, which was hard. It makes me want to go back in time to last year and tell myself, "You do not have a single relative in this religion, and you never will."
And then there are the old Jewish ladies who occasionally try to play matchmaker for Rebecca. I know that my converting isn't to blame for me being single, but converting has definitely emphasized it. There have been a few hints dropped about how Rebecca needs to get married and start popping out Jewish babies to keep the congregation alive. UGH! It almost makes me want to haul back and smack those old Jewish ladies who get these ridiculous ideas about things that will obviously never happen.
And then there are the folks (including Rabbi W, who's a strong pusher on this issue) who think it's such a shame that Rebecca's never been to Israel and that she needs to go there. I'm not sure if they don't know where I work, or if they're under the mistaken impression that my job pays atrociously more than it actually does. I'm kinda tired of telling people that I don't qualify for Birthright Israel (although it's a wonderful program for those who do qualify). Sigh.
As an aside, I rode my bike to services tonight, which I haven't done in a while, and I'm a little embarrassed by how quickly I felt out-of-breath and exhausted. I really hope I can start bike-riding in earnest again once the weather is cooler. I pushed two little kids in my congregation (who will both be new students in religious school in the fall) around on my bike after services tonight, and they loved it.
45 DAYS LEFT UNTIL SEASON 10 OF NCIS!