A Tale of Two Seders

We're not religious, but still enjoy keeping the holidays, and Passover is in the Top 3.  This year we got to enjoy two seders, and they were a contrast in styles.

Monday night Paul and Patricia hosted an elegant affair at their condo.  There was a bartender, and formal dinner settings, and delicious food.  Before the seder there were passed lamb chops, and salmon covered cucumbers -- we munched and caught up with Paul's family and old friends.

Best for me was the fact that both Ds were there -- D2 after quite an adventure thanks to the incompetence of Delta Airlines.  But we ate, and sat, and Paul delivered a lovely talk about the meaning of the holiday, geared for those not members of the Tribe.  And Wifey was especially happy -- Paul and Patricia invited Edna and her man Marc, and Edna's presence always elevates Wifey, even though at the end of the evening, Edna stepped in front of an arriving car at the valet stand and nearly made for a tragic ending to the night -- and an ironic one, too, as the vehicle being brought was Wifey's SUV...

Still, we went home happy and full, and D1 left for her man Joey's family seder, up the road in Sunny Isles.  It was a lovely night.

Yesterday I drove D2 to FLL and she had a thankfully uneventful return to NYC.  She called this am as she trudged to the PATH train and work -- she preferred to sleep late, and have me bring her Nespresso in bed.  Real life so gets in the way of vacations...

Last night we had the second seder -- this one at the Palace.  My mother in law was in good spirits, and we sat at a table as the activities director led the service.  The fellow next to me looked familiar -- sure enough, he was a retired Miami Dade Lt, and a close friend of my buddy Steve, a/k/a 5-oh.  During breaks in the service, we shared hilarious Steve stories -- Randy has known him since high school.  Randy was there with his Dad -- a retired chiropractor, and Clara, Randy's Venezuelan girlfriend.  It was her first seder.  Miami being Miami, there was another connection -- Clara's daughter is a FIU grad in Dietetics, and was a follower of D1 and her business.  She wants to meet D1 now.

Edna and Marc drove down again, and after the seder we sat out at the Palace's gazebo, under a gorgeous full moon.  My suegra retired early.  Edna and Marc spent the night, and are with Wifey now, post breakfast, taking some stuff from our sold condo to Edna's condo up in Hallandale...

So that will be it for me for Passover, although my low carb diet will keep me away from bread for the week and beyond.  No matzah, though -- I'm going full bore.

Tonight D1 has asked me to come to the grad school class she teaches as a "specimen."  She's teaching the students about interviewing techniques, and I will play the part of a fat, middle aged guy who needs to eat much healthier than he does.  Somehow I don't think the role will be too much of a stretch for me, or, as D2 said when I told her "Well, Dad, if the large pants fit..."

So it was a fine Passover, and I'm thankful to have shared it with my Ds.  In fact, it was the finest unleavened couple of days in a long while...