bikinis and brisket....

labor day weekend...the last "official" weekend of summer...time to soak up the waning rays...dine al fresco...late night ice cream run...defrost some brisket...what?, you might ask...this year has been one of unusually early jewish holidays...if you google it or if you are a more learned maven, you will read that it has something to do with lunar and solar calendars, and the jewish calendar adjusting to ensure a spring passover...in layman's terms it has meant an icy-cold, sweater-wrapped passover...now a new year the same week of labor day...and coming this fall, the first day of chanukah is...thanksgiving!!...giblets and gelt...crazy...it's hard to get my mind cleared and ready for the "days of awe"...truly the holiest of times for even the least observant...i remember being told when i was so young how it would be decided in those days who would be inscribed in the book of life for that new year...it was a large concept for a little soul and left me a little anxious...would G-d remember those instances of torture inflicted on my little brother?...or how my eyes may have roamed to the test page of the kid in the next row?...oh, how i tried to be good that week...i tried not to squirm when older relatives who smelled of mothballs and chicken soup squeezed my cheeks in earnest...i tried not to drive my mother to the brink of pre-rosh hashanah dinner insanity...i tried to do homework with a minimum of bitching...and then the holidays were gone...halloween was within my grasp, and dreams of chanukah toys in the not too distant future...and now i am older...in shorts, pushing a cart in fairway with a list and some old memories...at this point in life G-d and i have a silent understanding...my wishes are mixed in with honey cake and atonement, and are for those i love dearly...just hoping for a quiet week during these days of world chaos...just wishing all of you a sweet, happy new year...and above all else, may you and yours  be inscribed in the book of life...