Three Weeks

Three weeks of trying to keep the house clean for twice-a-week dates — of studying exactly which parts of the kitchen are visible from the dining room and moving the clutter to the parts that aren’t. Three weeks of trying to find baked goods to put out for the dates — but maybe I shouldn’t bother, he never touches the food anyway.

Three weeks of trying to hide my daughter’s shidduch from her younger siblings — and failing miserably (“Hey, why’s the house so clean? Why’d you buy rugelach? When’s the date?”) Three weeks during which everyone in the family, down to the six-year-old, found out the name and identifying information of the young man in question. (People around here aren’t very good at keeping secrets.)

Three weeks of marveling at the Hashgachas Hashem that led to this improbable shidduch — and at how perfect this match appeared to be. Three weeks of davening for clarity — but feeling like it’s already so clear.

Three weeks of indecision — should we have the bedrooms painted during that week after Tishah B’Av when the kids are away? Or might that be too much upheaval during a week when there might be an engagement? But shouldn’t we paint the dining room first, in preparation for a simchah? But what if we can’t have the simchah in our house because our dining room is in the middle of being painted?