after fasting and feasting

Indeed it is Thursday and not Wednesday, but yesterday was another long day, and I was ready for bed by the time all was said and done.

Yesterday was Yom Kippur, often considered the most important Jewish holy day of the year. It is the Day of Atonement, of fasting from sundown the day before to sundown the day of. Himself and I fasted most of the time, breaking the fast only midday to have a croissant and some tea from Starbucks. With his cancer adventures, it's not medically advisable for him to fast the entire day, and his digestive system is thrown off kilter if he doesn't eat a lot, which can lead to other messy and nasty issues. So he did eat a small bit, but adhered to the fasting overall. I also snacked on a few baby carrots before we returned to the synagogue.

It's true that I didn't need to fast with him. We are an "Interfaith" family officially, as Himself is Jewish and I am Pagan, which leads to some interesting conversations. However, I also believe that occasional fasting is a good way to reset the body and the spirit (prayer work optional), and I'm not going to be completely rude and eat in front of him when he can't eat at all. I wasn't in significant discomfort, thanks to my little "cheats," and I didn't get terribly bent out of shape as happens occasionally when I get Hangry. Part of it, I bet, is in the Expectation: when I am expecting to eat, vs. when I am fasting and not expecting to eat, at least not before sundown.

Back to yesterday: after sundown, there were "appetizers" of juice, challah bread, and apples with honey to dip them in, which were consumed most enthusiastically. Then we caravanned up to the home of one of the congregants for the Breaking of the Fast, where we did indeed break the fast with a potluck feast. After attending a few of these potlucks, I have decided I am going to start bringing salads, as there has been a marked deficit of veggies!

Everything, of course, was very tasty, with the exception of some macaroni and cheese that was very cold and off-putting. There was good conversation to be had during and after the feasting, with Himself doing most of the talking. It's not that I'm a bad conversationalist at all. He is quite happy to talk about his naval adventures, his cancer adventures, and all of his adventures, and I'm happy to let him have the spotlight in these situations. When all was said and done, we wound up bringing home more food than we had taken, some of which has been eaten today. I gathered together a few of our own leftovers and combined them with a can of beans to have with my salad for dinner tonight. 

I slept long and well last night into today. This day has been very slow and quiet, as I am re-entering the Moon Lodge and am waiting for the trickle to become a flood. The days immediately before, and the first days of, my Moonflow, I become super introverted and not at all willing to do more than the bare minimum of interaction. The fact that I'm doing this blog tonight is a minor miracle. Whatever else my life looks like, I am super blessed to be able to ease back on the throttle and REST, and be very quiet, for a few days out of every month.

Inkblot is dozing on the bed beside me as I type, and Pippa has claimed the top of the dresser for the moment. The top of the dresser is Prime Territory for both of them. Sometimes they're good at sharing, other times they're not. Today has been a good sharing day so far.

I think that will do it for now. Until next time...