Saturday in the Park

The tiny but mighty three-year-old who is like family to us came for a sleepover today. We spent almost two hours at the playground nearby, the only non-Jewish people among a healthy crowd of families.

The moms all had longer skirts on, the dads were all dressed uniformly--white shirts, dark pants--and a lot of the boys were wearing yarmulkes. The girls had on their Sunday best, pretty dresses [and, for preteens, junior ladylike dinner suits], even though it was Saturday. Last Saturday, same thing--H., Sug and I went for a walk at Memorial Park up the street in Passaic, and you could tell everyone was of Jewish faith based on how they were dressed.

I felt a bit naked today in my black beaded tank top and white flip flops with sparkly pedicure--but I didn't know what I was walking into. At least I did, by chance, have on a dark, knee-length skirt. [This is the playground closest to the condo, the only one I can walk to, and H. had the car for work in NYC.] But it was okay. Though the dads mostly kept to themselves, all of the moms were nice. Skirts and heels or not, we women all cared about the same things: that the kids were sharing [one little girl gave some pretzel sticks to Punch], waiting their turn and not pushing, running with sticks or climbing up on parts of the jungle gym that they might fall down from.

And anyway, we had Sug with us. Her cuteness crosses all faiths. Moms, dads and especially children were all over her, just like at the park last Saturday.

A Pal for Punch
Punch & Judy made some friends--especially M., a little blonde boy with glasses. She chased him around the playground again and again, both of them laughing the whole time. When she'd go up on the bridge between the slides, looking for him, he'd taunt her from beneath.

"Hey, Pink Slippers," he said. Then he changed it to Pink Sandals, which was more accurate.

"You're Pink Sandals," Punch said back.

He had an infectious grin and was really funny. We met his little sister and brother, too. I could see M. as the next Jerry Seinfeld.

Whenever he slipped out of sight, Punch would ask me, "Where's the boy with the eyeglasses?" and hold her hands around her eyes, like frames.

Fleeting Lessons
Punch and M. may never see each other again--who knows? It depends on when she's here, and when M. is at the playground. But on this one sunny afternoon, that slightly older man taught her a few important things:

1. The big grassy park with the stones that we see through the fence is called a cemetery. "Summer fish?" said Punch. "No, not summer fish," said M., laughing. "Cemetery."

2. Even though you may play for two hours straight with someone, and get along instantly and swimmingly, that doesn't mean you get to go the Shabbat party with them. "I want to go to the party, too," Punch said. She really didn't mind much when I told her we'd go back to the condo to see Figgy and her friend.

3. Boys don't want a kiss at the end of your first play date, no matter how cute you are. A goodbye is enough--especially when their conservative dad is watching closely.

M. and our day at the playground taught me some lessons, too. For all of my almost 50 years, I have a lot to learn about the Jewish faith. But ask me about Ash Wednesday, Holy Thursday, Good Friday, novenas or going to confession, and I'm your girl. I love the part below about the three stars.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Table set for Shabbat eve. This article is about the rest day in Judaism. For the Talmud tractate, see Shabbat (Talmud). For other uses, see Sabbath.

Shabbat (Hebrew: שַׁבָּת, Modern Shabbat Tiberian Šabbāṯ, Ashkenazi pronunciation: Shabbos, Yiddish: Shabbes, "rest" or "cessation") is the seventh day of the Jewish week and a day of rest in Judaism. Shabbat is observed from sundown Friday until the appearance of three stars in the sky on Saturday night. The exact time, therefore, differs from week to week and from place to place, depending on the time of sunset at each location. In polar areas where there is no sunrise or sunset at certain points of the year, a different set of rules apply.

Shabbat recalls the Biblical Creation account in the Genesis, describing God creating the Heavens and the Earth in six days, and resting on and sanctifying the seventh (Genesis 1:1-2:3).

Shabbat is considered a festive day, when a person is freed from the regular labors of everyday life, can contemplate the spiritual aspects of life, and can spend time with family. Traditionally, three festive meals are eaten: on Friday night, Saturday morning, and late Saturday afternoon. The day is also noted for those activities prohibited on Shabbat according to halakha (Jewish law).

Many, many more lessons to be learned. Punch, thanks for teaching me.