Catherine Zinger

ROSH HASHANA was this past weekend. We say, “Shana Tova!” and are supposed to have a big dinner to celebrate. It really is a big deal. My eldest son says, “WE are the most unreligious Jews I know.” Perhaps…

My sisters in NY never miss it. Sunday night they made a brisket and had a whole family dinner  in honor of the Jewish side of their family and emailed me all sorts of Hebrew greetings.  Sime and I ordered Chinese take-out and greeted each other off-the-cuff over a shared can of Coke as we drove home from a hockey game in Milton Keynes.

Anyway, Jewish New Year is all about new beginnings. It’s about hitting “control alt delete” on the past year and anything you’d like to move on from. I am hitting the “control alt delete” button on many fronts (think nervous bouncing knee speed– you know, like when you have to reach out and grab a person’s leg because they can’t stop their jitters sort of speed).

So here’s to New Beginnings and that fabulously forgiving “control alt delete” button on life.

And while I’m at it, here’s to friends with clean bathroom floors that feel cool on the face when you’re lying there in the dark while the world parties around you…And friends who come in to kiss you on the forehead when you’re passed out cold in the upstairs guestroom from having obliterated yourself from the dark side….And by the time you’ve made your way back downstairs, friends who greet you at 3am on the dance floor with a hug and smile like nothing ever happened… And who greet you with open arms at their home first thing Monday with homemade chocolate cake and a great big mug of hazelnut flavoured coffee…And sisters who check-in from NY everyday– just ’cause…

New beginnings indeed. Shana Tova everyone.