Rant #3,676: Beat Surrender

Yesterday, we were finally able to move some of our possessions over to the new apartment, something we will be doing during the next couple of days as we prepare for our official moving day.

It was tough doing this, but we moved over a lot of the lighter boxes and bags, and while we still have some more lighter stuff to move over, the movers will be doing the moving of most of the rest of our stuff.

So many emotions go through you when you make a move like this; I missed those emotions the last time, but I am definitely feeling them now.

And by next week, we will firmly be in our new dwelling, and all these memories will pass over us ...

All as the Jewish holiday of Passover comes to us, beginning Saturday night at sunset.

I am not going to lie; the holiday is not the same with my parents gone, and it is a bit more somber.

I will still eat my matzoh every day of the holiday, and I will do the best I can to keep the Passover spirit alive.

On Sunday, we will celebrate with my sister's family, and while it isn't the same without my parents, we will have a good seder, with the highlight, as usual, being the recital of The Four Questions, which explain much of the holiday.

And this year, there is an extra layer to the holiday, something that came about us quite unexpectedly--

And no, I am not talking about our move--which itself was unexpected--but I am talking about a great surprise, certainly one of the great surprises of my life.

As many of you know, my daughter has kind of been in and out of my life for the past 20 years or so.

I love her dearly, but there has been some type of disconnect between her and me, and I can't, for the life of me, explain why it exists.

I often do not hear from her for long stretches of time, and it truly bewilders me why it is the way it is.

Anyway, last week, I received a great shock through a text message she sent me.

The message said something to the effect that while she couldn't talk at the moment, she just wanted to tell me that she was engaged, and that she would talk to me later.

Remember, this was a text message, not a phone call, and she kind of left me hanging, so I subsequently texted her back, called her, but still, no response.

Finally, she did speak to me, calling me as I was driving back from a local hospital.

No, I won't get into why I was driving home from the hospital, but yes, I was, and my daughter just happened to call me when I was in the car with my son.

I asked several questions, she answered what I asked, and she told me about several of the details, which I won't spill here, other than she is looking at about a year-and-a-half engagement before she actually ties the knot.

I have met her future husband a few times. He seems to be a nice guy, and I truly hope they have better luck than my daughter's mother and I had during our brief marriage--

And both her mother and I have had successful second marriages, so I hope my daughter does better than we did, and gets it right the first time.

And yes, as the details unfolded, I told her just that.

What's more, my sister invited the newly engaged couple over to her Passiver seder, so we will get to congratulate them in person.

It will be the first time since Fathers Day that I will have seen my daughter in person, so I am looking forward to seeing her again.

So yes, my head is still spinning as all of this is unfolding, but at least I can end the week with some good news for a change.

So, have a great weekend, have a great Passover for those who celebrate the holiday, and again, I might be in and out next week here at the Blog due to our move, so bear with me, and I will try to post something else on Monday.

Mazel Tov!

Matzoh Tough!