Free At Last

I danced a little jig yesterday, when my last Chiropractic client left the office, that feeling of freedom from the responsibility of work was overwhelming. Then I pushed the large equipment off to the side, and my office became the official packing room. At the moment I need to decide what to put inside the mere two suitcases we are allowed, and which carry-ons will be most useful during our five hour layover in Heathrow. G-d willing, the information on the web is correct and updated, and there should be no disruption of our flights.

Almost as soon as I closed shop, Michal called me and invited the baby and me to meet her family (Yael and Daniel) at the mall for a meal and some pre-Pessach shopping. Going to a mall in Israel three days before Pessach is like trying to find a parking spot at a mall in America before Christmas, but I eagerly accepted the offer. I have so little fun food in the house, and I will not stock up before we leave Sunday morning, and so dinner of a sorts appealed to my stomach.

The three adults and two babies sat at a restaurant with agonizingly slow service, but it was nice to catch up with them and show off our children. Daniel, born exactly one month before Raphaela, mostly slept while Raphaela could not sit still for a moment, so stimulated by the atmosphere of new people and music and the bustle of the mall. If her activity level yesterday is any indication, I will not sleep at all during the 22 hours that we are in transit...

We also braved the new H and M store, which opened in the space that used to be a nice movie theater, where I bought Raphaela a new dress for seder; I had been so pre-occupied planning outfits for her Simchat Bat after Pessach, that I almost forgot about the holiday itself.

On the way home, we stopped by her care taker, so Raphaela could play a little and more importantly, so she could get her nails cut. Ever since the trauma of watching her cry and bleed, I am afraid to go near her hands with a child's scissors.

Finally home, later that I usually put Raphaela to sleep, and once she was tucked in bed I tried to make sense of all the small and yet important errands that I must complete within the next 36 hours.

Ah, vacation!