A Video Diary: Hiking "The M"

Just what the doctor ordered!

Hi Hi Hi!

Wow, what a couple of weeks!

How’s everyone doing?! Transitioning into routine can be brutal….

I woke up this morning feeling the overwhelm. On the one hand, Pesach is behind us, and that is a huge accomplishment. And… Menny’s Bar Mitzvah is in three weeks, and oh boy, it’s getting real. I told myself that I would tackle all the details after Pesach, and here we are. Usually after Pesach, I take some time to recharge after the huge output of energy. I have learned over the years how helpful that is for me physically and mentally, but this year it’s going to have to wait. I’ve got to re-rev that engine back up, and it’s a little scary. I’m quite tired.

When you make a simcha (joyous milestone event) living outside a religious community, there are a lot of details that otherwise aren’t relevant.

There are no kosher restaurants or access to kosher food, so part of the Bar Mitzvah prep includes hospitality and providing meals for our beautiful guests. It’s really fun and provides a very fun element to the occasion, but I just need to make a plan. Knowing that you need a plan but not having it yet can feel daunting, but once I figure it out, it will be a lot of work but less scary (I hope).

Back to this morning…. I woke up, and reality hit pretty hard. I didn’t get great sleep, and that always makes life feel twice as hard. I have to get to my Tanya class by 9:30 (but that always makes my day so much better in the end). I know I have to write for Substack, start getting a grip on the Bar Mitzvah, I spent two hours meeting with a local friend, and I have a house full of bored children.

When I came home from Tanya class, Zeesy and Chana Laya ended up having a day out with a close friend, so they were covered. Menny was out of sorts and had a really rough morning. I know the solution to that is getting out into nature, but try convincing a teenager to buy in. But we did! So, me, Chaim Shaul, Chaya, and Menny headed out to hike the M.

And off we go!

We took a few wrong turns, ended up in a twenty-minute downpour, and resisted the urge to head down before we got to the top. “We made it this far,” I kept saying. In the rain, no less, we can do this!

And do it we did! And it always feels so good! Nothing feels better than doing something hard.

But the cherry on top was watching Menny put on tefillin at the top of the mountain. Due to his rough morning, he hadn’t done it yet, so Chaim Shaul encouraged him, and he schlepped his tefillin to the top so he could have the opportunity to bring some extra G-dliness to a place that probably hasn’t had many tefillin moments, if any.

The day took a turn for the better, like it usually does with a little physical exercise in Hashem’s beautiful world.

The hike was inspired in order to get Menny outside and out of his funk. I was debating if I should even go due to how much work I had to do, but it turns out I needed it just as much! The work will always be there. Getting out and having quality time with Menny and Chaya was an opportunity I didn’t want to pass on, and I’m so glad that I didn’t.

I’m still overwhelmed, but overwhelmed in a happier way, if that makes any sense.

Love,

Chavie