I did services differently this year. For one thing, Rose and I went to the adult services for the first time. They were very well organized, had some inspirational moments--the shofar always gives me shivers--a good sermon, and enough English that I was not completely cut out. On the other hand, I did not love the music, and they ran half an hour late, on a 2.5 hour service. Three hours of services is too much services.

And then I made Rose stay and support David in the kids' service. It took a lot of coordinating, but John picked David and another girl up from school and delivered them to us at synagogue. We had fifteen minutes for a bathroom break and snack before heading back in. Unlike previous years, I did not make sure David was dressed appropriately, so there he was in his green t-shirt. I did not make him stand up when the rabbi has us all rise. (For those unfamiliar with Jewish worship, there is a lot of standing up and sitting down.) I did not make sure he was on the right page. At one point, I leaned over and said, "The rabbi wants to know something you are sorry about." He said, "The rabbi said we could say something we were sorry about; we didn't have to." Ha! He had been listening and intently at that. When we were discussing services today, he mentioned that he liked the rabbi's voice.

After services, we picked up John and the amazing apple crisp he made and went to a Rosh Hashannah party. It's so lovely when the hosts offer three different gluten-free cookies, one of them homemade. And I have decided that apples dipped in honey are really delicious.