This weekend was absolutely amazing. I was happily reminded that, although I've been reeling from culture shock, being in Michigan has its nice moments too. A peaceful and uneventful Sabbath made for respite from the busy week that David and I endured. We enjoyed friends around our dinner table and after dark on Saturday night, we drove to the cottage, away from the noisy buses, rowdy students dressed in skimpy Halloween costumes and raucous parties. Just the sound of an occasional water fowl broke the stillness of the night.
An early Sunday morning Talmud class got my blood pumping - even though I had to travel 45 minutes to where the Jews live. I brought back kosher pizza--my first since I left New York, and then David and I spent the afternoon exploring the lake by kayaks, drifting in the peaceful water, and appreciating the decision of the ducks and swans that chose to stay up here so late in autumn. Fall is definitely here as evidenced by David's pontoon boat, no longer in the water. As we paddled slowly on the still lake, dodging some fallen trees on the shoreline, we were strangely undisturbed. There were no wakes of big boats, manic jet skis and kamikaze tubes--the distracting elements that had been our nemeses all summer. It was breathtaking--a brief and welcome honeymoon for our six-month anniversary. We had wine with our dinner, then built a fire in the fireplace and snuggled on the couch watching a Netflix on TV. It was the perfect ending to a perfect weekend.
Happy moments like that make it hard to get back to the day-to-day grind of paying bills, and getting things done, but they are something to reflect on when I'm dealing with the crush of Michigan culture shock and New York homesickness that sometimes comes over me. I can just picture myself back on the lake...drifting in my kayak...the weather just right...the ducks floating by...yeah...
