Sukkot

 When Ric converted he built me a sukkah for the holiday of Sukkot...the first one I have ever had. My family was not observant and I had never even see an sukkah, or knew what it was for. But this is holiday that I have now fallen in love with, a holiday for sitting outside in the fall weather in a small booth open on one side with a roof through which the stars can be seen.

Well this year Ric was busy so we resorted to pop-up version...our tent. Not quite as comfy, but still fulfilled the commandment. And the newfy loved it since she could actually fit inside with us. We had a few friends over, another first for us.

This holiday is a statement that we are safe, even when our roof is not solid and our walls are not completed. We are safe in the world under the stars. If the weather is cold we can warm ourselves with food and wine and the joy of friends. If the weather is warm we can bask in the fall light and colors.

Another part of the holiday inovles a lulav and etrog (also knows as a citron). The plam, willow and myrtle, along with the etrog must be ordered from Israel in time for the holiday. I ordered in plenty of time, but somehow my lulav traveled from Israel to New York to Los Angeles to Colorado.....and on to Kansas where it ended up in the fraud department. Calls to UPS confirmed that my shipment was in Kansas. So I called the fraud division there and was told that yes my package was there. That was it, they would tell me nothing more, not even why it was there or what would happen next. I asked if they kept it until the end of the Holocene, or until the next ice age, or if they tossed it into a volcano as a sacrafice. No laughter and no answer.

Clearly I needed some sort of intervention. After repeated phone calls and questions (I even asked why they bothered to answer the phone since they could not tell me anything) I was told that my package had been lost and now...miraculously...had been found and was on its way to Colorado. It still had my name and tracking number on it, and they knew where it was, but now it was found. Sigh. The etrog and palm arrived fresh and intact, but Kansas had been too much for the myrtle and willow, so Ric and I had to substitute Colorado versions. We used it even as the leaves were drying and shedding around us.   

On the wonderful last day of sukkot we were invited to a Sukkahpolooza at a friend's house and were able to eat outside near a Colorado outdoor fireplace and flame heater that Ric called the tower of flame. We brought the etrog and shedding lulav and let anyone who wanted to shake it to the seven directions and offer up thanks and prayers. We left leaves in all directions.

Nope, no wedding dress....but don't worry...it is on the road again soon.