Dear Mothers

Dear Mothers,

Yes, I get it. The day is long. It’s hard. And I’m not even talking about your struggle to feel connected to the Yom Hadin.

Your day most probably started way before mine — someone probably cried at six. Maybe another needed a bottle or diaper change before I woke at eight or nine. And you’ve been feeding, entertaining, putting to sleep, and repeating.

But you have to hear shofar. A reason to get dressed and go out. You plan it so well. You make sure to buy treats. You leave enough time to get dressed, get to shul, and come upstairs. You sit on a chair one of us offered you — ’cuz you have little ones, who are happy… for now.

You wait.

There’s still Krias HaTorah to finish off, haftarah, and hagba’ah before shofar starts. Your little ones are halfway through their nosh and shofar hasn’t even begun. By the time it does, your kiddy-credit has run low. Someone will start to cry. Or maybe even get a shock from the shofar’s cry. And someone will shuffle or rustle a snack pack.