Monday, April 2, 2007

The Whole Fam Damily

Tonight is the first night of Passover. We will be going to my parents' house for the first Seder and I am sure we will leave stuffed full of food. More importantly, we will be full of all of the good stuff that family-centric holidays are about.

When I was an infant we used to go to the first Seder at my paternal grandparents' house with my dad's extended family. We would spend the second Seder at my maternal grandparents' house with mom's brothers and their families. Over time these Seders combined and essentially all of my relatives gather for a huge feast one night a year. As a kid it was great to see all of my cousins (8 of us!) in one fell swoop - you could play a great game of hide and seek.

I enjoy the Seder even more as I have gotten older. For the past few years, my in-laws and nieces and nephews have ferried across the Long Island Sound to join us for the celebration. My brother-in-law and nieces from Hungary would even make the trek to attend.

This will be LP's first Passover. I can't imagine she will enjoy the matzoh much (who does?) but I am excited for her to be surrounded by the love and warmth and wonder that the holiday brings. There is a part of the Seder called The Four Questions. It is a song traditionally chanted by the youngest family member - LP isn't quite ready (much to my youngest cousin's chagrin) but I can't wait for her to sing along a few years down the road.

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