New Traditions

For Rosh Hashanah, Josh and I shuttled back and forth from Boston to Albany to spend the holiday with both my parents and his parents. This weekend, for Yom Kippur, we decided to celebrate the holiday with friends locally. This was the first time that we have ever celebrated a holiday this way.

Friday night I rushed home from work in order to eat dinner and make it to services on time. Josh had already started making dinner by the time I got home and did a great job getting everything ready. Since we did not have a lot of time to eat before services, he decided to make sesame chicken because it was quick, easy, and delicious. We also had salad, sweet potatoes, and broccoli. For dessert we had whoopie pies...YUM! After dinner, I cleaned up the kitchen, changed, and then we ran over to the old neighborhood for Kol Nidre.

Once we got to KI we found our friends. Many of our friends belong to KI and it was really nice to celebrate Yom Kippur with them. It was also fun to hang out with their kids. Saturday was similar to Friday night. Although I missed being at the Temple I grew up at and seeing many of my high school friends who were visiting their families for the holiday, it was great to be with our local friends.

I have to admit that at some point in the early afternoon I left KI and went to my parents' house. One of the many reasons that Josh and I work so well is we are all about compromise. I understand that Josh likes to spend a lot of time in Temple and he understands that I like to spend time with my family on holidays. So while Josh was at services, I hung out with my mom and dad. Later, I met him back at KI for the end of the evening service.

We ended the night at our friend's (or as Josh likes to say, cousin's) house. She had her annual break fast which was a blast as always. It was nice to see many friends, acquaintances, and new faces. Really, it was a wonderful way to end the day. I think it was the perfect compromise. Josh and I both got out of the day what we wanted, and we were able to celebrate together. I think this weekend brought us one step closer to figuring out how we, as a family, want to celebrate holidays.