Surreal moment

Remember when I said that we had gotten Yentl from some neighbor kids who had found her at their elementary school? Well, today, two of the girls came to visit the kitty. Jonathan and I were putting on shoes, about to put up our porch swing, so they volunteered to babysit. Next thing you know, four elementary school age girls were playing with Xander in our front yard while Jonathan and I worked on the swing. We finished it, and moved to the backyard to put up the hammock. Then two boys came over, and they all helped us "try out" the hammock. To add to the surreal feeling, our next-door neighbor proceeded to lean over the cyclone fence and hand out cupcakes, leftover from her granddaughter's birthday!

While we were eating someone asked about my name, and I told them it was Hebrew. That led to me being a rabbinic student and Jewish, which prompted the question about the funny hats Jews wear to church, and the next thing you know, all six kids have trooped into our house and I'm showing them all our collection of kippot and tallitot. One boy said wonderingly, "I feel like I'm on a field trip!"

By the end, one girl was holding Xander while another tried to make him laugh, a third was playing with Yentl and the fourth with Osher, while the two boys were deeply engrossed in a Playstation game with Jonathan.

All in all, it was a fun, if not surprising way to spend two hours of a Saturday afternoon!