From my Table: Succos Edition

Here I thought I had this making-Yom Tov-while-raising-kids-while-running-a-home-while-working schedule under control with relatively enough room for mini disasters. I panicked a bit, maybe snapped once or twice over a spill, put everyone to sleep, and started cleaning. I was getting major quarantine vibes as I planned that Monday would be Bathroom Day and Tuesday Laundry Day.

I realized that I needed to rethink this approach. Kvetching to my husband resulted in him reminding me of the “pick two” refrain. (You can only pick two: sane mother, happy kids, clean house.) And me telling him, well, “sane mother” is synonymous with “clean house,” so I outsmarted the system.

My ideal goal is to be the paradigm of calm, the anchor of the kitchen. So, just like when we were all home in Covid quarantine, I needed to lower some expectations. Some of the things on my smug menu would have to go, and I would also have to practice in front of a mirror not apologizing to my guests.

In this week’s issue, we have a new column called Round Table. This column will feature a food-related conversation between a group of lively and opinionated sisters. I was moved by the discussion I had with the Kramer sisters, and I walked away with a reminder to do what I can, and the rest is just fine.