Marathon Monday & Passover

The boys waiting for the runners to pass

Eric and I bravely decided to take our boys up to Wellesley, Massachusetts for Passover.  We drove up on Sunday and back on Tuesday... a lot of driving for a short visit!  But we made good use of our time-- on Monday morning, after the boys staged a nap boycott, we went to watch the elite men and women runners.  Wellesley is about the halfway point of the marathon, and we saw some very fast people race right by us.  I tried to get the boys to cheer, but Asher just looked a little confused, and Benjamin got upset at all the noise.

My sister and cousins waiting for the runners

It was sunny and a little chilly, which I think probably made the runners happy.  It was exciting to watch the marathon, and I was just so impressed by the level of physical fitness the runners have!

We went back to my cousin's house, where we were staying, and the boys had afternoon naps while the rest of us got ready for the Passover seder.  Although the boys were around for Passover last year, this really felt like their first Passover.

Passover 2010- the boys were 3 days old, wearing preemie-size pajamas

Passover 2011- wide awake and ready to eat!

I dressed them in button-down shirts and Asher had khakis on-- he and my dad were actually dressed like twins!  They were walking all over the place and looked like boys, not so much like babies.  I had them try all the traditional Passover foods: matzo (yes), gefilte fish (no), matzo ball (yes), charoset (no).

Playing "yank the yarmulke"

Their patience ran out a short way into the seder, so we got them into bed and then tried to enjoy our dinner.  So far we have managed to keep Passover, which is tough since so much of what they eat is usually bread or crackers.  I am substituting matzo everywhere, and just hoping they don't end up constipated!

This very short week has been exhausting; after a 7+ hour trip coming back from Wellesley (we lost my cousin's husband at a rest area), we hosted a small seder at our house.  We got home at 3:30 and our guests came at 5:30-- what were we thinking?!?  My mom had said she would help with food preparation but was delayed, so we were on our own... and we pulled it off.  It was the first seder and holiday meal I hosted in my own home, and it gave me an opportunity to use my wedding china.

A tired Benjamin talking to great-grandpa David

This Passover was certainly a shift in the generations.  My grandparents are no longer the hosts and leaders.  The younger generation is starting to become more active in hosting, and it makes me hopeful that the relationships I have with my cousins, and our closeness as a family, will continue beyond my generation, down to our children.