Day 139

Happy Passover to my fellow Hebrews! Passover is by far my favorite jewish holiday strictly because of the food. I love eating Matzah and Haroset (spelling?) is the whup. Since we moved here, we usually do a seder with Leah's family friends the Rosenstein's, in the burbs. Last year we had a small seder over here - Jessica and Justin came over - and it was great. No service, just food. Last night we didn't do anything as we didn't go to the Rosenstein's (they had 50 plus people) and tonight we are going to Jessica and Justin's, as Justin's parents are in town. Should be an interesting situation this evening between the Enid factor and the fact that Justin's sister is newly outed as pregnant.

This brings me to happy Passover memories. As a kid, we usually had some sort of seder at our house. Kenny and Linda, Kathy and Julie would be there. As would Nancy and Keith, Amy and Debbie. My grandparents were fixtures as well. My dad, ever the comedian, was the leader, or as he called himself - "The Wrestling Rabbi." Dad would come down the stairs in a graduation robe with a "Go Tribe" white scarf as a tallace (spelling?). He also had a Tribe yarmulke. He had a joke for everything. Like one year the Basketball national title game was on the first night of Passover, and in the middle of a reading he said "and God said take UConn and the points." He always made it so much fun. I will never forget when I brought Leah home for the first time, April of 1995 for Passover. Dad did his usual routine and I think Leah thought our family was a little goofy. Then came when we had to go over for dessert to her Grandparents house. Now anyone who knows this dynamic, we are the ultimate in reform J's, and The Cleveland Robuck's are the epitome of conservative J's. We get to the house, and everyone is around the table singing songs while Leah's Aunt was on the piano. I couldn't have been more uncomfortable. We sat down, had some bad kosher desert, I was bombarded with questions, all to which I had no clue how to answer, and then came the whammy. They wanted me to sing along. I of course knew none of the songs. They wouldn't take no for an answer. It was brutal and quite the introduction to Leah's family. I had never even met her parents at this point.

I've got a little to report on the house front. We went back to the owner and said we wouldn't come off our figure and let him sit with that for a few days. Yesterday, their realtor called our realtor twice wanting to know if we could make a deal. We told them the same thing, we are sticking with our figure. Some things have happened this morning that I don't want to jinx, so I will stay quiet on this, but if things go the way I hope, you will get the full story on Monday in my next blog entry. Again, keep your fingers crossed.

I love this warm weather. Life just seems to improve when the weather gets better. There is no better summer city in America than Chicago. The lake, Wrigley Field, the different neighborhoods are abuzz with outdoor seating at eateries. It is just the best. Odds are we will only be here for half of this summer, so I feel as though I must get as much in as I can. We have gone on long walks with Casey each of the past two nights since it has been so nice here. I forgot how hot she gets during the summer. We couldn't have been outside more than 5 minutes before the tongue was already out. She is such a lazy dog, but I lover her for it.

Song of the Day: "A Children's Story" by Slick Rick