Sukkot

We have just returned from day 2 of Sukkot. It was, needless to say, a smaller crowd than we saw for Yom Kippur and especially Neilah (for which there was standing room only). But it was lovely, as in the place of rotten branches and leaves (which Ruthie and I lovingly collected from the nearby park), the shul brought in a field of myrtle, adding a wonderful smell to the holiday. Eve and I had an aliyah yesterday and today another kind old man gave each of the children a miniature torah in anticipation of Simchat Torah.

Yesterday, we had the family of Ruthie's friend, Lighuen, over for a light dinner and some sukkah-appreciation. Yes, we managed to get those PVC tubes to stand, cobbled together some skah (without actually ripping down a beautiful palm tree frond from Parque de Tres Febrero, although I really wanted to) and added some colorful creations by the kids, and had ourselves a real live, eighth-floor sukkah. The wind has blown down much of today, but that only seems to reinforce the transitory nature of the holiday. Religious rationalization, no doubt.

Two hours later:

Me and the kids just returned from our big park, where we had a lively game of dodgeball, climbed trees (whose name I don't know) with branches that sprawl out like spaghetti a hundred feet from the trunk, fed the ducks and their ducklings, and saw the first blooming roses in the Rosedal. It is a lovely park, packed on weekends, with a great feeling about it.

We are now preparing for the wedding of the long-anticipated wedding of Sheepie and Big Bird (nighttime stuffed creatures). Fortunately, we already have a chuppah assembled in the form of our sukkah.