“I’m the one in touch with our parents’ needs — and this is what they needed to enjoy Yom Tov”

Tzivia: Just because you can pay, why do you always get the final say?

Benny: I’m the one on the ground, and I see what you don’t from an ocean away.

Tzivia

“We’re doing a stopover, I’m dreading it,” said Malky, giving her two-year-old another push on the swing.

“Ugh, they’re the worst,” chimed in Dini. “I’d so rather do an overnight stop and put the kids to sleep in a hotel than hang out for a few hours in a random airport — they all go crazy with boredom, and then you need to get back on a plane and start the whole thing over again….”

“I know, it’s such a toss-up, the hassle of traveling versus making Yom Tov yourself,” agreed Malky.

“Are you kidding? I waaaay prefer to make Pesach than have the kids out of routine, jet-lagged, all that,” said Sara.

The post-Purim park bench conversations in our Israeli-but-chutznik neighborhood were always the same. I listened with half an ear as I distributed sandwiches to the kids and kept an eye on them as they ran around.

“Tzivia, what are you doing this year? You always make Pesach, no?” my friend Baila asked me.

“Actually, we’re flying back this year.”

“Oh, wow, good for you!”

I broke Simchi’s bread into small pieces and handed him the first two. He offered a gummy smile.

“Actually, I’m with Sara,” I said. “I find it easier to make Yom Tov than travel with the kids, but we haven’t seen my parents or in-laws in a while, and we’re overdue for a visit.”

“I’m gonna make some orders for you to bring back, ’kay?” Baila laughed. She’d be making Pesach for the first time, and she’d been lamenting the loss of her annual opportunity to go shopping “back home.”

“Sure,” I agreed easily. “If we have the space.”

Truth is, while I’d just announced that I thought it would be easier to stay home, I couldn’t deny I was pretty excited myself about the shopping. Okay, and about seeing the family, and having a change of scenery, and just being a guest, too, to be honest. We love living in Israel, but without much family around, I end up doing a lot of cooking. Shabbos, Yom Tov, day in and day out… going to our parents for Yom Tov would be a real treat. If I looked at it that way, the traveling was a small price to pay.