OH Hanukkah

Oh Hanukkah let’s light the Menorah. That’s what Luke was singing when I picked him up from Hebrew school on Tuesday.

I cannot even begin to explain how I feel about my kids growing up Jewish. It’s a very special thing for me because my 98 year old Boobie is still alive. Now can you imagine? Being almost 1 century year old? Just think about living through all that has happened in the last almost 100 years…The Holocaust (which my Boobie survived with a baby (Mom + Aunt Debi’s brother, Uncle Ronnie) in tow, Wars, Prohibition, cell phones, creating computers, creating the internet, drug wars, climate change, September 11th, Trump. I mean…you get the point. It’s pretty wild.

My Boobie is my favorite person on this planet and I apologize to all of the humans I know for saying that but it’s true. I believe I’m the woman I am today because of my Boobie. She’s powerful, strong, determined, loving and the best cook I know. One thing that is extremely important to Boobie is her religion. She has always believed in Judaism, G-d and faith.

Boobie always made it very clear to me that she wanted me to marry a Jew. I would say to my Mom…Mom, I’ll fall in love with who I fall in love with and you will support me. My mom would say of course. But Boobie…no dice. I get it. Boobie has earned herself the right to be ignorant given all that she’s been through. There was no convincing her otherwise.

Boobie met Zaidy when she was 17 years old and he was 30. He got on a bus (that he wasn’t supposed to get on) and there she was. They hid together during the Holocaust in a Swedish family’s cellar. He was a dentist and took patients down there to pay for their hiding fees. There was so much fate in their meeting and life together.

Lucky for me, I met Adam. Adam was the quintessential Handsome, Brilliant Jew who swept me off my feet and gave me the best life ever.

Boobie’s life was complete the day I met Adam. And I will always believe that fate, like how Boobie met Zaidy, led me to him.

Now living in New York City, we’re surrounded by a beautifully diverse population. We have gotten to know so many cultures, religions and faiths of friends and people we have met through our lives here. I love sharing in all of the celebrations that my friends have especially now for Christmas time.

However when it comes to the winter holidays in my home, we celebrate Hanukkah.

Hanukkah is one of my favorite holidays because my birthday is December 8th so it’s always felt like double the celebration and double the gifts come December.

There are so many traditions that I keep alive with the kids for Hanukkah. My kids love to play dreidel for quarters (I used to play with pennies #OLD), we make latkes and we exchange gifts!

This year we are going to be in Hawaii during Hanukkah which starts later than usual. We will be attending a friend’s Hanukkah party while we’re there and then we will simply enjoy our vacation.

I didn’t want to leave without enjoying our family traditions so the girls came over, brought gifts for the boys and we all drank mocktails + wine and ate latkes. It was perfect.

I cannot believe how many celebrations we got in this month. We are one lucky group.

Happy Hanukkah everyone! May your lights shine bright.