Summer vacation — Part I
Summer vacation. Trips to the beach, traveling to exotic destinations, going to museums, sending your kids off to sleepaway camp, and spending seven weeks smiling at your spouse — everyone has their own memories and their own favorite summers.
It goes without saying that this past summer, universally, has not been chock full of great news, but I am going to attempt to keep this one light and close to the heart. This column is going to be about my summer vacation.
My summer vacation was a lot of fun and filled with exciting adventures and great friends. Most of these friends were under the age of 3 1/2, but I have always said that I am not great with people my own age.
My summer vacation was filled with walking up and down a lot of stairs, with and without adorable little girls in my arms, going to the supermarket almost every day and experiencing the refreshing delight of apple-flavored soda. Please don’t judge. It isn’t like apple-flavored Coke — that would be yucky. It is more like apple-flavored seltzer, but much, much sweeter. It goes great with the Cheetos that I have written about before.
My summer vacation took me to a trampoline park in Ramot, where I watched my Danish squeal with delight as she jumped up and down, danced to music, and tried to make friends with every stranger there. Husband #1 fell asleep holding Danish’s sister and missed all of the fun.
My summer vacation was filled with holding a very sweet and yummy little baby girl and becoming very proficient with getting her to fall asleep on the “Babka couch,” as I have become known to my family. When you have skinny daughters-in-law, it helps to have a little more girth for the babies to fall asleep on. Fun fact.
My summer vacation took me to the Jerusalem Zoo, on two buses, with my amazing DIL #2 and her double stroller (and Husband #1 and DIL #2’s sister). Even at the zoo in Israel there is a right wing and a left wing. We went to the right (figures, because I would have gone to the left) and the right has all of the “nicer” animals. Penguins and birds and monkeys and frogs. Had we gone left, like I normally do, we would have seen the lions, giraffes and elephants. The more “dangerous” animals.
But the only person who mattered that very, very, very, very hot day (did I make the temperature clear?) was Danish, and she loved all the right-wing animals. Baruch Hashem.
My summer vacation had me spend 35 beautiful days with my Israelis and I am so, so grateful that I was able to do that. Hearing Danish yell “Kabka!!” (Which is Hebrew for Babka, I am kidding) was just as beautiful a sound as when Strudel used to call me Banji. And getting to know her and her sister was magical.
Since my trip had been extended for almost two weeks, I missed spending a week with my newlyweds, who were supposed to live in Teaneck for a week whilst Son #3 worked at a local hockey camp. I was looking forward to bonding with my new Dil #3. She, most likely, was relieved that I wasn’t there because, well, I’m me, and we are still in that honeymoon phase.
In any event, Husband #1 and I came home on a Thursday, had the newlyweds for Shabbos, and Camp Babka started on Sunday.
The second half of my summer vacation was three weeks of Camp Babka, which included six fun-filled days and five fun-filled nights of Strudel and her sister, while their parents vacationed in, according to Strudel, “Costco.” Truth is, you probably could vacation in Costco.
Camp Babka was filled with trips to the zoo (which, fortunately for you, you will hear about next week), arts and crafts projects, nature walks, chalk art, a trip to the trampoline park in Englewood, and, of course, and with much hakarat hatov, visits to the two great-grandmothers.
Another activity was wheelchair ramp gymnastics, where Strudel would climb, run, jump, and dangle from the wheelchair ramp that had been installed for my dad eight years ago. I hope that he was looking down and laughing at Strudel’s antics — and I hope you enjoyed this column, because Part 2 is next week….
Banji Ganchrow of Teaneck hopes you all had a healthy and beautiful summer and can’t believe it is time to start cooking for the high holidays!
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