The first one was on Labor Day weekend, Friday night, our first night at the Unschooler's Campout at the Wright's farm, in Equinunk, PA. I've written about it here, before, so I will just clip the excerpt and place it here.
We arrived at the Wright's meadow just at dusk, along with the charming Lavender family. We wrestled tents together (weekend camping trips don't work well for chefs, so I was alone with the kids; Nora and Ryan had borrowed a tent still in the box, and had no idea how to set it up at first. But when Randy and Lucia Wright arrived with their daughters, age 4, things all came together...
And then we were treated to something wonderful...an outdoor Orthodox Shabbat - the Jewish Sabbath ritual.
I've been fascinated by Judaism since childhood. To be included in the observance, to have my curiosity welcomed, to be a part of that poetry on a lovely, moonlit Pennsylvania mountain night, was wonderful and embracing. The children tasted their first challah bread, dipped in salt, and each had a sip of sweet fruity wine. We washed our hands, and my Protestant tongue tripped over the blessing...
Then there was wonderful kosher take-out - gefelte fish and chicken, and pudding...we sat on haybales around a small campfire and ate while we got to know each other, with the children exploring between tents, around camp, and returning often to snuggle close to a parent...
We fell into our blankets in exhaustion, and there the kids stayed....
My other best night out happened last Thursday, December 3, 2009, at the annual Victorian Street Walk in Saratoga Springs, NY. For years I've meant to attend this event, then would either forget, or the weather would be horrible, or I was afraid of the crowds and being alone in them with two young children...Jim, as a chef, is not available for evening things, most nights...
But the kids, at 8 and 5, aren't tiny anymore. And I heard about it a week in advance, which even gave me time to discuss my plans with Jim. The weather was lovely, warm for upstate NY, with a bit of rain, scudding clouds, and a huge full moon...
So we went. I waited until we were en route to tell the kids where we were off to, so they could be surprised.
I'm glad we went. I'm even happier I wasn't one of those parents I saw dragging their kids around, only seeing the main attractions. We spent far more time peeking in windows and galleries, looking at hitching posts, even feeling the texture of the walls and fountains, and playing with a vast assortment of dogs!
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