Pesach.

the time we were freed from slavery.

and we're supposed to free ourselves from being slaves to our own desires.

what are you a slave to?

i know right now I'm enslaved to my computer. yep, once again I'm waiting for an exam grade. we were supposed to email our professor before Wednesday so that on Thursday when she logged into her computer she would email everyone back. unfortunately for me, with all the Shabbos and chag, my week feels like it's been Friday Shabbos Sunday, Friday Shabbos Shabbos Sunday, Friday Shabbos Sunday....so i totally forgot to email my professor before pesach, and now i might have to wait until Thursday to find out how i did on my exam. but I'm not too worried, since everyone else in my class got in the 90's-psych nursing is pretty easy. the thing to remember is that involuntary admission can only happen when the patient is a danger to themselves or others. knowing that can help answer almost every single question.

in the beginning of the semester our professor told us that we should go see a Broadway show called Next To Normal, a story of a dysfunctional family affected by one of its members living with bipolar disorder. i had plans to go see Lion King with my future mother in law and assorted sisters-in-law, but the show was sold out. so on Thursday morning she got tickets to see Next To Normal. this wasn't a feel-good musical, where you leave singing. it was an emotional drama, and by the end of the show almost everyone was crying. but i must say, it was very powerful. my semester working with mentally ill may have opened my eyes to gain a little bit of what people deal with when they live with a mental disorder. i found it poignant and beautiful at the same time. highly recommended.

but the part of Pesach that's always been my favorite, and that which I've mentioned in the past, is the family part. first days we had a cousin from the Midwest over, a tradition three years running, and we did the second seder in the nursing home, like we did two years ago. second day lunch was spent at grandparents with Uncle2 and various other cousins. for shabbos we had Aunt from Far Away with all her kids, and we went to visit Uncle1. for the last days, we will be eating and hobnobbing with various other relatives. i know that by the time the dishes are all put away and the chametz is brought back out (hopefully not too late on Tuesday night, i need to be in the hospital at 6:50am on Wednesday) we'll be more than sick of each other and only too happy to get back to school/work, but for now, we're enjoying the chag, the weather, and the family, in a country where we are free to do as we please.