Of Spirals and Paper Chains

My family, b’ayin tova, has been blessed to live in this Holy Land for nearly two decades. Our lives, in Israel, have been dynamic. We’ve enjoyed increases and known losses. On balance, many of our experiences have been typical. One fairly normal happening that’s been part of our lives is that many of our Sukkot decorations have worn out.

More exactly, from Hutz l’Aretz, we had brought along decorations that our children had made while in preschool, there, as well as ornaments that we had bought. Similarly, from Eretz Yisrael, we had decorations that our children had made, while growing up here, as well as ornaments that we had bought (so much more Judaica has been available in Israel, relative to the rest of the world.)

It appears that glued together popsicle sticks break apart in the long term as do cardstock “pretties” attached to velveteen backing. Additionally, over tens of years, pipe cleaner creations seemingly disassemble themselves and  images painted on paper shred.

Furthermore, the goods for which we spent money, e.g., hanging glass fruit obtained from dollar stores, have discarded their elements one cluster at a time. Also, except for our laminated sheets, the ones that offer up prakim of Tehillim or the order of the Ushpizin, hardly any purchased embellishment has survived the elapsed years, including and particularly our plastic chains and our garlands of synthetic etrogim.

Hence, last year, while we were taking down our sukkah, I finally tossed many broken adornments. As well, I marked my calendar to remind myself that we needed to generate new ones.

On the one hand, Computer Cowboy and I are blessed with grandchildren. On the other hand, their parents tend to keep all of their constructions for their own sukkah. Consequently, I tasked my spouse and myself to refresh our bag of sukkah enhancements. Dutifully, we took up scissors.

My clever companion made streams of hand cut flowers (think paper doll chains, but instead of imaginary people, envision a garden’s worth of flora.) As for me, I charged myself with cutting and connecting paper loops. Further, it was my job to style ornaments that could be hung from our schach. I used construction paper for the former and iridescent, metallic pieces for the latter. Likely, we’ll suspend these trimmings by using a combination of dental floss, twist ties (Computer Cowboy always has those on hand to herd his cables), and thin rope.

When we most recently visited our grandkids, I gifted them with some of my unused materials; small children like shiny things. I especially can’t wait to see what they produce with the shimmering paper.

This year, counter to family tradition, we won’t be bringing our generations together in our sukkah; Missy Older’s mate returned to war before Rosh Hashanah and Older Dude, currently, is undergoing previously unscheduled extra training. Rather, we’ll congregate in Missy Older’s sukkah so she won’t have to travel, by herself, with all of our grandchildren.

Meanwhile, Computer Cowboy and I eagerly await other Sukkot guests. In addition to the Ushpizin, we hope to host a variety of friends, almost all of whom don’t live in our neighborhood. Besides,  Mo’ed’s an ideal span to accommodate dear ones, who, like Yours Truly, can no longer easily walk to most places.

Initially, I had grand plans for the meals I wanted to cook for our friends. Thereafter, I modified my designs; our pals, too, will be feasting for the entire week. Simple but tasty food seems the correct course on which to proceed with menus. Besides, as we age (BH for getting older), many of us now forego sugar, salt, charif , fatty dishes, or citrus. It’s not so much that we sabim prefer blander fare as it is that our bodies’ mechanisms, like my family’s paper chains, have been breaking down.

More than I miss being able to serve our friends all manner of culinary delights, I miss my children’s sukkah beautifications. There remains a part of me that hasn’t fully integrated that my once young sons and daughters are now in their thirties, or thereabouts. Not only do those offspring no longer need me to sign completed homework or to help them pack for school trips, but they’re, likewise, no longer toting home watercolor pictures of the Beit HaMikdash or tinfoil impressions of The Land of Israel.

This year, the spirals and paper chains that my husband and I made by ourselves will have to do. In place of the add-ons formerly crafted by our sons and daughters, we’ll include them in our holiday by praying for their safety and by being grateful that through them we became grandparents.

May Hashem’s Sukkah of Peace cover all of Am Yisrael! Have a wonderful holiday!