Been gone gone gone so long ...
Yeah I know. Lame song. And if you were humming along with it and it sticks in your head like it has mine? You're old. I'm just sayin.
Passover was a dream come true. Imri traveled beautifully in the car - I did the not-to-be-forgiven thing of actually taking him out of his car seat intra-trip and holding him a little while John drove. My son is a very alert boy who loves to look at everything and that helped soothe him and actually lull him to sleep. Sometimes. He didn't sleep much on the trip, but he was amazingly well behaved.
So well behaved that family at our Seder commented on how late it was and how uncranky Imri was. Seriously folks, he doesn't really cry when tired. He just seems to get more and more alert and watchful of all the goings on. When at home and tired, then he does cry a little but it's more a plea "please nurse me and let me drift off at the boob. Please?".
Well behaved at my cousin's wedding reception, well-behaved at the Seder that night. A delight and joy, really. Held and played with by multitudes of adoring family ... and welcomed into our "clan" by my uncle, father of the bride who called attention to his entrance into our clan. We had family in from Israel and across North America and the joy of everyone at Imri's birth and his presence amongst them was incredible - he was welcomed into our "clan" by so many and got many many gifts that were unexpected. Imri is the newest descendant of our common ancestor, whom we often refer to and whose name I will not mention for fear of Dr G00gle.
But it was a moment of pride and joy as Imri was held aloft and welcomed into our extended family - the kind that brings tears now. I took many many pictures, of course. One of the most memorable moments for me, is that of sitting beside my father as he sang his father's melody of "Chad Gaddya" to Imri. I have to say - having my infant son beside his Zeda (grandfather) as he told the story of the Exodus from Egypt and from slavery was incredible - and the look on my father's face as he sang the age-old songs to my boy was beyond description. I am so blessed with riches. It's something I will remember as long as I live.
Another sweet memory is Imri playing at my parents wooden table -it's a very unique table and as children, we used to crawl through its spaces. Now my niece and nephew do that ... and it won't be long before Imri does. But my mom held him as he played with the table's knobs, lumps and metal pieces. (Points for those who can spot the pacifier ...)My parents bought that table the year I was born - and we have pictures of me and my brother playing at it as our Boba and Zeda held us and sat nearby.
I didn't expect so much joy and celebration at Imri's presence, honestly. I think my generation sometimes forgets that the birth of every Jewish baby is something for us to truly celebrate since we lost 6 million not that long ago. It's made even more special for me, because of infertility and all that happened so that he could be here. So this was an incredibly special and momentous Passover and I wanted to share with you all how lucky and blessed I feel that Imri got to spend this time with family who love him so completely.
My father said "I'll be 90 at his bar-mitzvah" ... not "if I make it" or anything like that, but a statement that he would be there. I told him I'm holding him to it :)
Ah but life is good. I won't hardly mention the terrible stomach flu that struck us all down one by one or the ear infection or AF ... but life is good. It was worth every tear, all the pain, everything, to have this time etched in my memory for ever. I would do it again in a heartbeat.
As for my immigration fears and woes - well, we decided to use a different and busier port of entry into the USA and the border guard looked at me, looked at my passport and wished us a good day. That's it. After all my fears. *sigh*. And as of yesterday, we have officially sent off my permanent residency paperwork, so if there is any luck to be had, wish it upon me. I'm hoping to have my green card by this time next year, INS and DHS willing.
And to top it off, Imri is getting so big. He is sitting up on his own and is so close to crawling. He "talks" and is making himself understood in different ways - he definitely understands "hungry" and "boob". That's my boy ...
He goes for his 6 month appointment next week but saw the doc last week because of a "maybe" ear infection and he is ... 19 pounds and 13 ounces. At 6 months. He is still teething a lot but no sign of teeth yet, just mucho drool.
All in all a good several days and a time I will always remember. I am so glad we got to go home. Home. Yeah. And John is talking more and more about moving to Canada. A girl can always hope, you know.
Passover was a dream come true. Imri traveled beautifully in the car - I did the not-to-be-forgiven thing of actually taking him out of his car seat intra-trip and holding him a little while John drove. My son is a very alert boy who loves to look at everything and that helped soothe him and actually lull him to sleep. Sometimes. He didn't sleep much on the trip, but he was amazingly well behaved.
So well behaved that family at our Seder commented on how late it was and how uncranky Imri was. Seriously folks, he doesn't really cry when tired. He just seems to get more and more alert and watchful of all the goings on. When at home and tired, then he does cry a little but it's more a plea "please nurse me and let me drift off at the boob. Please?".
Well behaved at my cousin's wedding reception, well-behaved at the Seder that night. A delight and joy, really. Held and played with by multitudes of adoring family ... and welcomed into our "clan" by my uncle, father of the bride who called attention to his entrance into our clan. We had family in from Israel and across North America and the joy of everyone at Imri's birth and his presence amongst them was incredible - he was welcomed into our "clan" by so many and got many many gifts that were unexpected. Imri is the newest descendant of our common ancestor, whom we often refer to and whose name I will not mention for fear of Dr G00gle.
But it was a moment of pride and joy as Imri was held aloft and welcomed into our extended family - the kind that brings tears now. I took many many pictures, of course. One of the most memorable moments for me, is that of sitting beside my father as he sang his father's melody of "Chad Gaddya" to Imri. I have to say - having my infant son beside his Zeda (grandfather) as he told the story of the Exodus from Egypt and from slavery was incredible - and the look on my father's face as he sang the age-old songs to my boy was beyond description. I am so blessed with riches. It's something I will remember as long as I live.
Another sweet memory is Imri playing at my parents wooden table -it's a very unique table and as children, we used to crawl through its spaces. Now my niece and nephew do that ... and it won't be long before Imri does. But my mom held him as he played with the table's knobs, lumps and metal pieces. (Points for those who can spot the pacifier ...)My parents bought that table the year I was born - and we have pictures of me and my brother playing at it as our Boba and Zeda held us and sat nearby.
I didn't expect so much joy and celebration at Imri's presence, honestly. I think my generation sometimes forgets that the birth of every Jewish baby is something for us to truly celebrate since we lost 6 million not that long ago. It's made even more special for me, because of infertility and all that happened so that he could be here. So this was an incredibly special and momentous Passover and I wanted to share with you all how lucky and blessed I feel that Imri got to spend this time with family who love him so completely.
My father said "I'll be 90 at his bar-mitzvah" ... not "if I make it" or anything like that, but a statement that he would be there. I told him I'm holding him to it :)
Ah but life is good. I won't hardly mention the terrible stomach flu that struck us all down one by one or the ear infection or AF ... but life is good. It was worth every tear, all the pain, everything, to have this time etched in my memory for ever. I would do it again in a heartbeat.
As for my immigration fears and woes - well, we decided to use a different and busier port of entry into the USA and the border guard looked at me, looked at my passport and wished us a good day. That's it. After all my fears. *sigh*. And as of yesterday, we have officially sent off my permanent residency paperwork, so if there is any luck to be had, wish it upon me. I'm hoping to have my green card by this time next year, INS and DHS willing.
And to top it off, Imri is getting so big. He is sitting up on his own and is so close to crawling. He "talks" and is making himself understood in different ways - he definitely understands "hungry" and "boob". That's my boy ...
He goes for his 6 month appointment next week but saw the doc last week because of a "maybe" ear infection and he is ... 19 pounds and 13 ounces. At 6 months. He is still teething a lot but no sign of teeth yet, just mucho drool.
All in all a good several days and a time I will always remember. I am so glad we got to go home. Home. Yeah. And John is talking more and more about moving to Canada. A girl can always hope, you know.
posted by K|nneret at 8:02 AM
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