yom kippur (lyn)

There is so much more time is in a day when food is eliminated from it.

Since Alexander left for college, I no longer go to temple on the high holidays.  I didn’t before he was born and I was living in New York, and now I don’t again.  I still fast, and I still pray, but I do the latter in a more informal way.

We are breaking fast at Jill’s, my brother-in-law’s sister’s house.  I wish I could skip eating entirely until October 1st.  That would be the only way I could maybe meet my goal of weighing no more than 125 by month’s end. 

I spend the day reading, emailing, and contemplating.  It’s a sober day, punctuated by a lively night.  I don’t start to really miss food until two or so.

By 5:30, 11 of us arrive at Jill’s.  The appetizers alone are sufficient for an evening’s worth of food:  creamed herring, dip and vegetables, challah bread, crackers, egg salad, and drinks. I eat too much of the appetizers, followed by too much of the main course (bagels, lox, blueberry blintzes, and a million other things I pass on).  Then one slice of 7-layer cake for dessert, just to make sure I don’t get hungry on the short ride home.

Tomorrow we celebrate Zelia’s birthday.   Starting Friday, I will get back to eating more like someone who wants to lose five pounds.