Lost hills, nice people
Almost 16 years ago (it could actually be 17, math is not my strong suit) I started a blog called Holycrapimgonnabe40.blogspot.com. It began because my posts on Facebook had some people asking me to start a blog. So I did. It didn’t make me famous, which I thought it would, but a girl can dream, right?
Anyway, after the blog, I started writing a column for a paper that led me to write for the Jewish Standard almost 10 years ago. And, as I have mentioned before, as a middle child with low self-esteem, it always makes me so happy to hear when people enjoy my column.
Which brings me to this past weekend.
Husband #1 and I were invited to share in a family simcha, one that we were so happy to be a part of. The simcha took place in a community that is warm, loving and has many, many hills. We stayed in the home of the nicest and most wonderful, selfless and hospitable people, who had opened their home up to us four and half years ago when Husband #1 was sitting shiva and we were there for Shabbos.
Fast forward to this past weekend. With Son #1 and Dil #1, Strudel and her three sisters in tow, thank God, we were back. And for such a special occasion. The fact that this wonderful couple opened up their beautiful home to eight of us was beyond generous. (And the husband reads my column, so a big shout out to him!)
Though, to be honest, I was a bit nervous. A 5-year-old, a 2 1/2-year-old in the midst of toilet training for school, a 21-month-old with a penchant for wandering off in search of things just in reach, or attached to an electrical socket, and a 4-month-old who, well, does what a 4-month-old does, though maybe a bit louder. I guess the goal here was to leave this house in the same condition we found it.
Hopefully, that was the case. Though Son #1 left his retainer there and the son of our hosts and his lovely wife and adorable baby delivered this most personal item (so sorry about that) right to our front door. Just like Amazon, only better.
Back to Little Curly for a second. We discovered that my Sil has central vac. Well, Little Curly discovered it, when she innocently lifted up something attached to the wall and the sound that came out made her jump three feet in the air. Did she learn a valuable lesson? Probably not, but she is so adorable that it doesn’t really matter.
And now for the fun part of the weekend. Since I am the best mother, mother-in-law, and grandmother, I offered to walk back to the house we were staying in with my kids, so they could put Strudel and her sisters to sleep and then go back for dinner.
Son #1 asked someone at the simcha for directions, but something went terribly awry. After the third mountain climbed and no correct street in sight, I decided to take charge.
I knocked on a stranger’s door. Two very large and loud dogs greet me at the window, followed by a small older woman. Turned out, she spoke only Spanish, and my yelling, “We are lost! We can’t use our phones! Can you help us please?” fell on deaf ears.
Next.
Through the window, I see a lovely home and a woman sitting at a computer. I knock on the door. More big and loud dogs and a teenage boy comes to the window, quickly followed by his mom. “Can you please help us? We are lost! We cannot use our phones and we cannot find Sesame Street [not real street name].” She opened the window and checked out the crazy lady with the adorable 5-year-old and assessed our level of danger and then went to open the front door with her very large husband by her side.
Sesame Street? He types it into his phone and shows me that we are only one hill away and a slight left. “Thank you so so much!!! You did a big mitzvah tonight!” And then they wished me a Shabbat shalom.
And we found our way home. Thank God, because you never want to be the mother-in-law who gets the daughter-in-law with the four little kids lost.
And how was your weekend?
Banji Ganchrow of Teaneck would like to, once again, thank her hosts for a lovely weekend and for the host who wanted her to autograph one of her columns…yes, he was kidding and yes, it still made her very happy.