thank you

i would just like to post a public thank you to those families who open their homes for yom tov and shabbos meals. i specifically want to thank those who invite many singles every week. these individuals are so special. many who they invite are social deviants who would have no where to go and yet these families invite them with a full heart and make all of their guests feel welcome. i dont know how they do it. because these families invite such diverse company it can be overwhelming to be a guest if one is not eccentric. nonetheless it applaud the hosts. it is such a big mitzvah. the families who open their homes are not rich . they dont get funding to do hachnasos orchim . i am in awe of these families. i dont know that i could do what they do if i were married. im not sure i would have the patience. this is why i think that what these families are doing is so incredible.

post yom kippur blues

once i started working, i really started appreciating rosh hashanah and yom kippur. at least these are holidays most jewish people take off work for (even if its just one day for rosh hashanah) . once yom kippur is over you are really on your own. sukkos? what's that? did you make a mistake with your jewish holidays list? did u really think they'd believe you just wanted Columbus day off? after all there are those who say that Columbus was jewish. and then when you tell them about simchas torah... well how many jewish holidays are there?
my personal favorite was recently when two jewish co-workers asked me if shavuos was coming up soon and was i going to be taking off for that holiday as well. they do get points for knowing shavuos actually exists, so i had to let them down easy when i informed them that shavuos is 7 weeks after passover, not 2 weeks after rosh hashanah.
i used to feel funny being the sole frummie asking to take off for the jewish holidays, but at the same time i had felt fortunate it was just me.
with kashrus laws its best being the sole kashrus observer . this way there is no one who says they keep kosher but eat the non-kosher ,non-meat meals and goodies that appear in the office. then you dont have to explain to anyone why david cohenlevyyisroel is eating the non-hechshered cheese sandwiches and yet i wont.
its too bad that secular jews dont participate in sukkos/simchas torah. they are down for the more somber parts of being jewish and none of the fun. kind of like only attending family functions when there is a funeral , but never attending a familial wedding.
anyway, this is why i have those post-yom kippur blues. now im the sole frum jew in a sukkah-less desert of non-observers, paving the frontier for others like me.