Synagogue Retreat

This past weekend was the annual Oseh Shalom Retreat at Cacapon State Park in West Virginia. Last year Judah was hardly even crawling and was comparatively unaware of his very different surroundings. This year Judah was all over the place and quite reactive to the new environment, for better and worse! We've been learning more and more lately that Judah is a bit of a home-body. He has a hard time adjusting to new places, especially with a lot of strangers, and really prefers to be at home with his family. But aside from the fact that whenever anyone came up to talk to him he said "bye bye" or "see ya later" (he's very subtle in his messages), he was a real trooper and did very well, all things considered.

In particular, he was very excited to see his Abba up at the front of the room. The first time he saw Doug leading services, he turned to me excitedly and said "Abba!!" as if he was genuinely thrilled to discover that his Abba was, in fact, the rabbi of this wonderful congregation.

He also loved the music, which is no surprise, and shouted "again!" every time a song ended. One of the few times he was actually outgoing with a congregant was when he saw someone playing a guitar. He just ran right up to him and started strumming. Fortunately, the young man was very gracious about it.

He also tried out some Israeli dancing, along with his grandma,

And had a great deal of fun at the water fountain.

The weekend also provided the first opportunity for Judah to experience some snow (although it was just a little on the ground). He wasn't at all sure what to make of it, but was definitely intrigued.

All-in-all it was a lovely weekend - Doug did a great job and the community was, as always, warm and welcoming. Although my focus had to be on Judah and I was therefore unable to participate much in the retreat programs themselves, it felt good to be a part of it. And it was incredibly nice this year to have the help and company of my folks who stayed with us in our cabin and made Judah especially comfortable and happy.