Chavurah Christmas Eve

We belong to a chavurah (a smaller group within the synagogue) that meets once a month at someone's house. The members are similar to Drew and me: They're around our age and have kids (although older, in grade school) and they're really nice folks to get together with. One of the members, Mark Carver, had the brilliant idea of hosting a Chinese dinner/5th night of Hanukkah celebration, with a gift exchange. The catch: None of the gifts could cost more than $1 (which is how Rachel and I discovered the treasure trove that is the Dollar Tree store).

So, after I got home from the clinic today we piled into the car and drove to Mark's house on the edge of Lake Oswego. Rachel, as usual, dove right in to the activities; she doesn't seem to care that everyone is older because she thinks she's a lot older than she is and the other kids are friendly. She got compliments from one of the adults on the outfit she picked out all by herself -- pink striped leggings, a pink shirt with cupcakes at the bottom and a blue denim skirt with while eyelet trim. This is why Drew thinks she'll end up at NYU -- she has a pronounced artsy side.

I was feeling pretty mellow because of the pain meds and the adults got to spend long stretches of the evening talking about politics, birth experiences, Portland public schools, mortgage rates. (At one point, Anna, one of the adults, turned to me and said, "Can you BELIEVE we are talking about mortgages??" to which I replied, "Yeah, we are SO BORING. We all used to lead really interesting lives."). The Chinese food was pretty good, Rachel even ate some Chinese noodles and chicken, and we had lots of desserts to choose from -- including chocolate cake from Costco, homemade sugar cookies and fruit. Afterward we posed for a photo for one of the families who was in Arizona and couldn't make it, then the kids chose gifts and opened them.

And then, at Mark's insistence, we all caravaned over to a street near his house with the most awesome Christmas lights imaginable. It was like all of Peacock Lane compressed into one house. Ligths, lights lights everywhere, a snowman, a train, reindeer. Rachel, of course, was delighted. We closed the evening singing "Silent Night." The folks who slowed down their cars to take a look were no doubt Jewish, commenting on the crazy Christian carolers on Christmas EVE, for godsakes...

Peace, everyone.