Latkes and Lights

Holidays are generally a challenging time for me – I’m not religious, I don’t observe rituals and I usually do the laundry on Christmas Eve. I was raised culturally Jewish and essentially Atheist, which means I appreciate sour dill pickles and Woody Allen movies. This season, however, has been wonderful. My father is doing well, and he was treated to a homemade potato latke party due to my special friends Laura (head-chef) and Cindy (sous-chef) coming to town. Sid’s expression watching the girls cook for him was priceless. I’ve been to more lighted house displays in the last week than I’ve seen in the last decade – all tacky and silly. I experienced a shopping marathon in an Oregon suburban mall for 10 hours with 4 ladies in identical red reindeer sweaters. If that isn’t festive spirit, what is?

I’ve been wondering if my mother was going to pull one of her infamous after-death stunts. For those who don’t know the family history, every time I lost something from age 5 through 55, Mom would dream about it and then tell me where it could be located – even when I was thousands of miles away. Usually when I’m visiting my father I lose odd items which magically reappear on the last day, which is her way of saying she’s watching over us. Two days ago I lost an expensive earring on a hike. Today I went back to the trail with little expectation to find it. I walked along the path looking for a glint of sliver after a muddy rainstorm and heard her voice: “look down.” The earring was there partially buried under a rock, in perfect condition. I don’t believe in God. But I do believe in the power of friendship to heal. Happy holidays to us all!