Spotlight on: Parents

Just wanted to offer up a public service announcement about how much parents rock. At various times on a daily basis - we make hard things seem effortless, appear to have superhuman amounts of patience, unending depths of love and understanding and infinite wells of energy. Sure, a lot of it is smoke and mirrors or a facade to help get through the day, but most people don't know that.

Today, I want to highlight the awesomeness of parenthood by offering up my parents as an example.

For the 15th year in a row (or so) my parents hosted our family's Passover seder last night. Over the years "our family" has grown to include "my family" and my extended family, and my cousins and their kids and extended families...and last night we were about 36 people.

For a sit down dinner.

With:

• two kinds of kugel,
  
• two kinds of potatoes,
  
• two kinds of asparagus,
  
• homemade matzoh ball soup,
  
• chicken,
  
• brisket,
  
• about a dozen other nibbles, noshes and side dishes,
• 10 loads of dishes,
  
• 10 full trash bags,
  
• countless pieces of rearranged furniture,
• 9 affikomen presents
• and enough leftovers to feed the entire crew again for a second seder.

Of course my parents have helpful (and sometimes not-so-helpful) help by way of my grandmother (who makes at least a half dozen types of not just edible but actually delicious passover desserts) and aunts and uncles and cousins and children, but they shoulder a large swath of the effort. And pull it off every year.

Thanks mom and dad, for leading by example and reminding us all of the wild and wonderful aspects of being born (or married) into our family.