WOW Moments
Jyl Johnson Pattee, founder of Mom it Forward Media, gave one of the keynote speeches at RootsTech 2013. Reviews for her talk were mixed, but I enjoyed it, particularly the takeaway about creating WOW moments. You can watch the speech on the RootsTech website. If I could sit down and talk with Jyl, the only argument I would make against creating WOW moments is that WOW moments just happen. The best WOW moments are unplanned.
Chaos
Our family was lucky to experience a WOW moment last Sunday, just before the beginning of Passover. Our lives have been in chaos and we slid into the Friday before Passover exhausted and depleted. We hadn't been able to even begin Passover preparations let alone shop and cook. Quite honestly I was in tears thinking about the enormity of what we wouldn't be able to do.
Nontraditional Passover Preparations & Seder
Flash forward to Sunday and my daughter came home from college to help us make Passover. Because of medical procedures which one of us would be undergoing, it was not possible to hold a traditional Seder on either Monday or Tuesday nights. Our solution was to do what we could, even if nontraditional. We went shopping for the Passover necessities, spent the day cooking and preparing and at five o'clock loaded up the car with all of the delicious, hot dishes and headed to my in-laws' home.
My husband's parents at 89 and 91 are officially elderly. We are so lucky they are still with us and we are grateful for the wonderful support people, who help make it possible for them to continue to live at home. My mother-in-law was a little overwhelmed with the arrival of the five of us and our pots, pans, dishes, bottles and more. We put the matzoh ball soup, which my eldest daughter made for the first time, on to the stove to reheat, set up the Seder table, poured the wine and juice and gathered everyone at the table.
Our WOW Moment
It happened as everyone had finally sat down together at the Seder table. Because of his fading energy and memory, my father-in-law has not led the Seder for several years. But this year, he sat down in his traditional place at the head of the table, picked up the Hagaddah and began to lead the prayers and the story of Passover. He made it all the way through to buying back the afikomen from our son and drinking the fourth (well actually his fifth) cup of wine.
It was magical, a fleeting gift from G-d. Like the moment when we open the door for Elijah to welcome the beloved prophet into our homes, we were lucky to experience the moment our Dad, our father-in-law, our Gramps, once again, led our family in this ancient tradition. For a short time, he was back! And he didn't even spill his wine. WOW!
Happy Passover! Chag Pesach Sameach!
and Happy Easter to my Christian readers!
Scrappy Gen
Let's Remember!
Jyl Johnson Pattee, founder of Mom it Forward Media, gave one of the keynote speeches at RootsTech 2013. Reviews for her talk were mixed, but I enjoyed it, particularly the takeaway about creating WOW moments. You can watch the speech on the RootsTech website. If I could sit down and talk with Jyl, the only argument I would make against creating WOW moments is that WOW moments just happen. The best WOW moments are unplanned.
Chaos
Our family was lucky to experience a WOW moment last Sunday, just before the beginning of Passover. Our lives have been in chaos and we slid into the Friday before Passover exhausted and depleted. We hadn't been able to even begin Passover preparations let alone shop and cook. Quite honestly I was in tears thinking about the enormity of what we wouldn't be able to do.
Nontraditional Passover Preparations & Seder
Flash forward to Sunday and my daughter came home from college to help us make Passover. Because of medical procedures which one of us would be undergoing, it was not possible to hold a traditional Seder on either Monday or Tuesday nights. Our solution was to do what we could, even if nontraditional. We went shopping for the Passover necessities, spent the day cooking and preparing and at five o'clock loaded up the car with all of the delicious, hot dishes and headed to my in-laws' home.
My husband's parents at 89 and 91 are officially elderly. We are so lucky they are still with us and we are grateful for the wonderful support people, who help make it possible for them to continue to live at home. My mother-in-law was a little overwhelmed with the arrival of the five of us and our pots, pans, dishes, bottles and more. We put the matzoh ball soup, which my eldest daughter made for the first time, on to the stove to reheat, set up the Seder table, poured the wine and juice and gathered everyone at the table.
Our WOW Moment
It happened as everyone had finally sat down together at the Seder table. Because of his fading energy and memory, my father-in-law has not led the Seder for several years. But this year, he sat down in his traditional place at the head of the table, picked up the Hagaddah and began to lead the prayers and the story of Passover. He made it all the way through to buying back the afikomen from our son and drinking the fourth (well actually his fifth) cup of wine.
It was magical, a fleeting gift from G-d. Like the moment when we open the door for Elijah to welcome the beloved prophet into our homes, we were lucky to experience the moment our Dad, our father-in-law, our Gramps, once again, led our family in this ancient tradition. For a short time, he was back! And he didn't even spill his wine. WOW!
Happy Passover! Chag Pesach Sameach!
and Happy Easter to my Christian readers!
Scrappy Gen
Let's Remember!
