Well, this was certainly a Shabbat I will never forget. It began with our bus trip from Ramat Eshkol to Nachlaot, a perfectly peaceful ride until Yonah proceeded to puke all over himself right before our stop (he had had diarrhea in the afternoon but was his usual, happy self, so I figured it was something he ate. Not so much).

So there we were, at the Machane Yehuda bus stop, stripping Yonah down his diaper and getting covered with baby puke in the process. It was an hour before Shabbat and we debated about what we should do: turn around, head home and wing shabbos meals, or go over to our hosts’, the Masons, and see if they would be okay with having a stomach-virus-plagued baby in their house. We went for option #2. Thankfully, the Masons were perfectly fine with us staying, and Chana promptly went into her library of homeopathic remedy books to see if she could whip up something for Yonah.

After we got Yonah fed and settled in for the night, I was actually able to take a minute and check out the Masons’ house, which was absolutely GORGEOUS: a converted, three-floor house with exposed stone walls, a winding staircase and an earthy, woodsy decor. I fell in love immediately. We sat down to dinner with 14 other guests, a mixed bag of students, visitors, a family of olim chadashim (Americans newly immigrated to Israel), a couple of newlyweds and a couple who will be getting married in a few weeks. The Masons had everyone go around the table and share who they were and a word of Torah, or something that inspired them during the week. It was very moving to hear everyone share so openly and there was a great spiritual energy around the table for the entire meal. Chana cooked an entirely vegetarian dinner, so I felt very light, physically and spiritually, by the time dinner was over :).

Today was a rough one–Yonah was still not feeling well–and he and I spent a good deal of it sleeping. We went to lunch at my friend Keri’s, where we were able to visit with a group of new friends who all lived in Nachlaot and mostly hailed from the Toronto area. Aside from the happy banter, it was fun to hear a conversation sprinkled with a whole lot of “aboot”s and “Toronno”s. After a quiet afternoon (well, mostly quiet after Yonah’s 6th stomach explosion) Shabbat drew to a close and we came home, laden with bags of foul-smelling clothes. We are now officially exhausted and in bed for the night.

I guess my whole positivity/gratitude “Life of Answered Prayers” trip is being put to the test; life as a parent is not always easy, but even in those moments of getting puked on on a bus, I can remember that this child is the one I prayed for, and that bus in Israel is one I prayed to be on. So that is also a dream come true. I think, next time, I may have to put in some addendums to my prayer list…