The Hanukkah Song

Mom and Dad always sang a song in Yiddish every night of Hanukkah, a song that ended with, "hip hip hooray! Hip hip hooray! Hip hip hooray for the Maccabees!"

I sang it last year but it didn't really register. What a difference 24 months makes! When I sang it for the first time the other night, Rachel was beside herself. She LOVED it. "Again!" her sweet little voice demanded, and I obliged. She loves it when I sign it in the car. And she even tries to sing it herself, but she can't get past the first two words: "Hanukkah, Hanukkah..."

Tonight I raced out of work after a longer-than-expected chat with the associate dean of the law school (a truly nice guy; I could have talked to him for another hour or so), grabbed Rachel from daycare and tossed her into the car seat without any Mommy cuddling -- all in order to get to a friend's house by 7 (we actually got there at 7:10 or so). Suzanne had invited us over because her sister-in-law was making LATKES, and since I have absolved myself of making them this year because it's just too much for a single mom to do (with the proviso that I will make them the first weekend Drew is home for winter break because he made a special request), I decided to take Rachel.

Suzanne is the mom of Lila, Rachel's little friend, and boy did those two have a time together! At first Rachel was a little shy, but then they ended up in Lila's room and we heard much laughter and dumping of Lego blocks. We all thought it would have been lovely to let them play all night so we could have adult conversation, but finally Steve (Suzanne's husband) told the girls that we were LIGHTING THE CANDLES and it was time to come out of Lila's room. Whereupon Rachel marched out in a pair of genuine wooden clogs from Holland (and she looked ADORABLE) and we lit the candles and said a prayer. Rachel swallowed a few mouthfuls of applesauce and challah, and then it was back to Lila's room. More laughter and some shrieking, and at one point Steve checked to see what was going on. Upon returning, he informed us that he wasn't allowed into the clubhouse.

We lured them out again with dessert (last night I baked peanut butter cookies with Hershey's kisses in the center) and Lila kept at the cookies -- with Rachel right behind -- until "big Rachel" (Steve's sister, who had made the latkes) took them away.

It was so cute watching Rachel and Lila together. Whatever one did, the other followed. Lila is a few months older and is regularly using the potty and wearing underwear. At one point she came back with her underpants down and I pulled them up and pulled on her pants. "Lila, you should tell Rachel that she should wear underwear," I said, not thinking she'd follow through. Sure enough, she came with me into the bathroom, where Rachel was waiting to use the potty (because Lila had used it just minutes earlier) and said earnestly, "Rachel, you should wear underwear." It was hard not to laugh.

At the end of the evening, Rachel generously gave hugs all around. Lila is a hugger, too -- she came right up to me, arms outstretched, in a completely unself-conscious way, to get her hug.

I hope our girls will continue to be great friends for a long, long time!