Observant

I realized, when I saw many, many yarmulkes at Target today, that tomorrow is Passover. Our Target is in what I suppose is the epicenter of Judaism in Houston. The family behind us in line had 4 extremely adorable, modestly dressed,well-behaved kids, and the mom had on the cutest, most natural looking wig I've ever seen. I felt dumb buying the egg dyeing kits and 2 dozen eggs that were the purpose of our trip (we are having some friends over tomorrow for Easter Fun). I wanted to say something like, "I really do hate how Easter and Christmas have been hijacked by Commercialism and Schmaltz and Candy and bunnies and Santa. I really wish we in Christendom did a better job of combating it and instead truly observed Lent and Advent and truly and joyfully and abundantly celebrated the birth and death and resurrection. I believe Jesus was who he said he was! I believe he died and rose again! I believe it has nothing to do with baskets or chocolate or fancy clothes! And yet, yes, if you look in my basket you will see that I let my son choose a dye kit and it is "Star Wars" themed, even though he has never actually seen "Star Wars." So, while you ponder anew the matzoh and the bitter herbs, we'll be putting Luke Skywalker stickers on these cheap eggs which I can guarantee you at $1.19 are NOT kosher."

Remember how loud it is in my head? Loud.

Speaking of resurrection, we looked at some houses this weekend. We drove out to the suburbs and found new houses we can almost afford. The siren song is strong. The model homes were so sparkling clean and well-planned. The insulation! The space! No Strange Smells! The shiny appliances! The mold-free grout! The huge windows, perfectly placed! One of the models even had a shared play area outside of the kids' bedrooms that was set up as a school room! Perfection! But, then you walk outside and it's identical houses and sidewalks for millions of miles in every direction. The trees are tiny and won't offer shade for another 20 years. We are in the car for a very long time to get back to the city. Many miles to go. So then on Sunday, the pastor at Ecclesia reminded me that he and his family bought a house in a rather blighted area of Houston that got left behind when everyone decided to cut their losses and head for the shiny new houses in the suburbs. These are big houses, and well-built. With beautiful shade trees! And cheap! We saw a 4 bedroom, 3,500 square foot house for $115,000!! It backs up to the abandoned golf course and its abandoned country club which has recently, after much lobbying by the steadfast residents, been purchased by the city to turn into green space and retention ponds. Hope! Alas, there is not a single recognizable grocery store or any other familiar franchise for many miles around. Crime, I suspect, is near and unavoidable. Do we dare? To reclaim the blighted? It is so much easier to start new. I just realized you can make the metaphor spiritual either way. Blast it.

Plus our dear friends the B's are moving to Dallas and the change might do me in. It's inevitable but that doesn't mean I have to like it. Bah.