I have always prided myself in not letting a few aches and pains slow me down.
I spend as much time as possible with kids. My own two need me (almost as much as I need them), as do the kids I coach at little league (almost I much as I need them), and there’s the honey do list (which I need from her as much as she needs to ask). I tell myself, “suck it up Sherman and keep moving,” but if we’re being honest, the daily grind of living takes its toll, both physically and mentally.
I sorta know what mail carriers feels like to have fulfilled their duty, emptying their satchels of mail at their respective destinations only to arrive the next day to find it full…and then hoist it on their shoulder to march off and do it all over again. You can get lost in the grind, with all the demands placed on you but sometimes you have to listen to that inner voice and slow down….or risk permanent damage. Finding time to heal can be hard but I’ve come to understand why even G-d needed to take a timeout.
Different people require r’fuah in different ways; fortunately for me, I find my r’fuah on Friday evening. Whether it’s Shabbat Services or Pizza night with family and friends, mandating myself to slow down, ignore the “noise,” and let the accumulated stresses drain from my body allows me to focus on what really matters: family, friends and dare I say myself. It’s my time to switch from binary to Hebrew, business process to customs and rituals which reconnect me with the past and guide my future.
So that the next day, I can pick up my mail satchel and do it all over again.
Allen is a 20 year (aka Semi-Native) Charlottean, originally from Suburban New York. He is father to 2 really awesome kids (they really are) and husband to a wonderful wife who indulges his need to volunteer at Charlotte Jewish Preschool and Myers Park Little League. In his spare time, Allen works at a Management Consulting Firm, cooks for and enjoys bourbon with friends.
