Rosh Hashana High

Rosh Hashana was amazing.

Yeah, thats what I said.

"Hi, my name is Evelyn, and I'm a big geeky Jew."

The rundown:


Wednesday evening - A delightful outdoor dinner party in a stunningly decorated home.  Connected with warm, intelligent, generous people; drank delicious pomegranate martinis; ate brisket.  Kids ran happily wild.
Thursday - Synagogue.  Kids loved babysitting and junior congregation and I enjoyed the service, especially the cantor's daughter's unbelievable voice.  After lunch, Larry & I sat on the deck and discussed the rabbi's sermon over a bottle of wine.
Friday morning - Another enjoyable service.  True, I kibbitzed with friends through most of this one,  So, like I said, enjoyable.
Friday afternoon - Appletinis and a relaxed, fun outdoor lunch with our first friends in Denver, the amazing family who invited us over when we came here house-hunting in June.  So happy they still want to hang now that they know us.  Kids ran happily around the yard.
Friday evening - "Leftovers shabbat dinner" at another friend's house.   What a great idea, even though absolutely no one was hungry.  Grownups sat around, shmoozed, and ate a four course meal anyway.  Kids played until all collapsed in front of the T.V.  Grownups finally agreed to let everyone go home & get a few hours rest.
Saturday morning - Drove to Summit County.  Marveled at nature.  Met with realtor.  Looked at condos in Wildernest and Dillon.
Saturday afternoon - Met up with the friends who hosted us on Wednesday evening at their home in Keystone.  Hiked.  Talked.  Swam.  Talked.  Ate their delicious Rosh Hashana leftovers for dinner.  Talked.  Drank good wine.  Talked.  Drank good port.  Talked.  Put the kids to bed.  Meant to come back to the living room for more talk; fell asleep with the kids.
Sunday morning - Talked.  Ate breakfast.  Talked.  Hiked.  Talked.  Said goodbye.  (Oy, can't wait to hang out with these guys again.)
Noon - Went back to our favorite condo to take a second look.  Went to the realtors office.  Signed an offer!  Went home.

Oh, but that is not all.  That is not all ...

Sunday evening - BBQ at the friends' home where we ate last Sunday night's dinner.  Well, "BBQ" is what the email invitation said ... There was a bouncy slide; a rock climbing wall; entertainment by a professional stunt team; and games, games, games.  There was gourmet pizza; grilled salmon; and a cupcake truck.  Ridiculously PERFECT weather.  A big group of haimish, fun, intelligent men, women and kids who love life.  Best Rosh Hashana party ever.  

Seriously, this Jewish community is so warm, welcoming, fun, and generous I am truly blown away.  Thank you, thank you, thank you all for making us feel like we've been here way longer than seven weeks.

And for those of you getting a little annoyed at how much the Becker-Schwartz family is digging Colorado, read on to hear about my Monday morning blahs.

So then Larry went to work.  And Caleb got picked up for school.  And I dropped Adina off at school.  And then I had six hours with nothing planned.  Sounds nice, right?  I could have a) worked on finding that job I've been talking about; b) worked on getting the house or yard in order; or c) enjoyed exploring somewhere new in Denver.  So what did I do?  d) Felt sorry for myself that I had nowhere to be.

Very productive.

Apparently my experience is not uncommon.  Adrenaline provides pleasure and energy - a "rush" that makes people feel competent, energetic, challenged.  It is, quite literally, a chemically induced "high," and many people (me) find it highly pleasurable (Less people likely experience it by celebrating Jewish holidays but WHATEVER).

Then, the inevitable drop in the level of circulating adrenaline occurs.  Producing a "letdown."  When adrenaline has been flowing strongly for awhile, this letdown can cause a fairly classic set of withdrawal symptoms: irritability; restlessness; a strong compulsion to "do something."

See, I'm a classic.

Thankfully, most people can climb back up after the letdown, and indeed, after the hour I spent on Tuesday feeling guilty for feeling sad after such a great weekend (Nice Jewish Girl Rock Bottom), I snapped out of it.  And the last couple of days have been much better.  I researched.  I made lists.  I networked.  I arranged a meeting.  I reminded myself a half a dozen times that when we got here, I said this process of "going back to work" could take six months to a year.  I went with G for a bike ride, drank a latte, and felt enlightened once again.  

Heading back to synagogue this evening.  And wishing everyone in my life a meaningful holiday and a year of dreams fulfilled.