A week of endings

We don't move til June, but for some reason this week seemed to be a big week of lasts, in many ways.

- On Monday, I gave my senior sermon.  And Wednesday all the seniors got together to lead a joint service for the school.  Last official things on my HUC checklist, done!

- Last day of class on Thursday.  At the goodbye luncheon, I found myself giving people hugs and not knowing when I'd see them again.  So strange.

- Last PhD dissertation lecture.  Since our campus also has the grad school, one of the perks (in my opinion) has been going to the culminating presentations of the new PhD's.  Thursday was my friend Justin's presentation on the influence of the Jewish philosopher Philo on a writing of Didymus the Blind.    I learned something completely new; apparently Philo was "adopted" by the Christians and perceived as a Christian early writer due to his style of exegesis (Biblical interpretation).  I'd had no idea.  It was truly fascinating.  And then I laughed at myself as I realized I was the only rabbinic student in the room of grad students and profs, and remembered the librarian who thought I was a grad student too.  Eh, everyone else's loss.

- Last time scheduling visits with doctors and vets and hairstylists so it will all get done before we move... which I know seems like nothing, but really does feel like an ending.  We took Simcha in to get his teeth cleaned, and Xander was so cute, he insisted that the cat carrier sit by his car seat instead of by me in the front seat, because "I'll take care of him.  I'm the big brother!"  Oh, and that poor cat was so drugged afterwards it was almost funny... all he wanted to do was cuddle.  He lurched around following me until I gave in and pulled him into my lap, where he lay prone for two hours.

- Last week of meeting amazing new people in the Archives.  Yes, it's really my penultimate week of working, but there are no new Archives fellows next week, so... I've been working with a woman who's an expert on California Jewry.  When I told her I was moving to Sacramento, she sent me this video about Pioneer Jews in the 1850s, and how to teach kids about their Gold Rush experiences, culminating in a cemetery visit. I'd never meet scholars in such fields if I hadn't worked here.  (Here's the video, if you're interested.)

- Last community events.  This includes the last HUC kid birthday party today (Yay, Max is one year old!), the last lunch with Bruce/remnants of my CPE group, and the last (or certainly next-to-last) Scottish event; today was the Caledonian Pipes and Drums Band, with tons of bagpipers, Highland dancers, Scottish food, etc.  My favorite was the tea room - but Gwen, don't get too excited, it was pretty close to the Scotch Tasting area, so there was a lot of overlap. :)

- Last Tot Shabbat but one - and thank goodness for that one!  There is a very popular Shabbat song with the preschool set about a dinosaur knocking at the door, who wants to have Shabbat with the kid.  The dinosaur wants to light the candles, drink the wine, you get the idea.  Well, Rabbi Coran instituted a brilliant idea (which I may copy): she brought a small stuffed dinosaur onto the bima with her, named Shahbee Dinosaurowitz.  She then held up a photo album which had a picture of her and the dinosaur on the front page, but the rest of the pages were empty.  Each Tot Shabbat, she said, Shahbee Dinosaurowitz would go home with a different person, and that person would take a picture of themselves and the dinosaur celebrating Shabbat.  She put all the kids' names in a hat, and who got picked?!  Our Xander!!  Later that evening I thanked her, thinking that it had been a plant, because this was literally the only time we could do it (May Tot Shabbat will be our last).  But no, it was sheer coincidence!  Xander was unbelievably enthused, and has clung to the dinosaur so tightly that we may have to intervene to insure that Shahbee does not become Shabby.

And I think that's about it...

Oh, except that Thursday was also most likely our last D&D game, too.  Danyul leaves in two weeks to go back home, and Marc's pretty much out of the picture because mazel tov! his wife Rachel gave birth to their son Emory yesterday.  The excuses these people come up with, really... ;)