A weekend of transition

Wow.  We are leaving in less than a month.  There's no doubt now.  (There never was, logistically; but now it's hit emotionally.)

Jonathan and I spent the majority of Thursday at Travis Air Force Base, witnessing a Change of Command ceremony for a congregant.  I'd been there once before, teaching Intro to Judaism to a bunch of Air Force and civilian medics/nursing students, but this time it was solely as an invited guest.  We saw the ceremony, which was filled with pomp and circumstance the likes of which I hadn't seen since ordination; we took a tour of the air traffic control tower and the balcony (for lack of a better term), 11 stories up; we saw the radar room filled with screens and blinking lights and no windows; we walked around the base and learned an absolute ton about the authority structure in the Air Force.

Mom came in late Thursday night.

Friday morning I officiated at a funeral, and then in the evening was on the bima for Education Shabbat, when we honored all the teachers and madrichim in the religious school.  The VP of Education then gave a beautiful speech about my contributions to the temple, and then my whole family was called to the ark and Board of Trustees members held the tallit above us as the senior rabbi and cantor gave us a blessing.  My kids did pretty well considering they stayed up til past 9; there was only some screaming from Connor, and everyone seemed to go "aww" instead of being upset.

Mom took Jonathan to the airport at 5am Saturday morning to leave for Florida, and he said later that it was more like a family reunion than welcoming an out-of-town guest; he saw our new house, met with the principals of the kids' school, visited temple, had meals with congregants, and got to know Coral Springs even better.

For my part, Saturday morning was a Bat Mitzvah, and Saturday evening I taught my last Adult Education class at CBI, on "Introduction to Talmud."  I was very pleased with how it came out, and was so touched when a group of congregants gave me a Miss You Already card with some wine.

Sunday was Mother's Day, and my own amazing mother did so much housework it was unbelievable.  I Skype'd with TBO about an urgent issue, the kids were kind, I got a nap in, and they had pancakes.  A good day.

And Monday morning the preparation for transition continued: we went to the pediatrician for the very last time, and they got a battery of last vaccinations they'll need for school in FL.  I was intrigued to hear that Xander is in the 50th percentile for height/weight, Ari 25%, and Connor 80%.  According to the doctor - and I'm recording it here for posterity, so we'll have to check this in years to come - the two eldest boys will grow to between 5'8 and 5'9, and Connor will be between 5'11 and 6'.  That makes sense; I'm 5'4 and Jonathan's 6'1.  So they'll still be giants in my extended family pictures, and on the short end for his.  I can deal with that.

Mom left last night at dinnertime, and Jonathan came in past midnight.  It's back to work and school for everyone, but with a heightened awareness of the continued passing of time, and a bittersweet feeling of sadness to leave, while still holding great excitement for the future.  The process of change is hard, but necessary.

I see great amounts of chocolate in my near future.