Real life

Friday was a mixed bag.  It was my first Shabbat at TBO, and I worked really hard on my sermon and service prep.  It was a lovely evening.  Everyone was beyond welcoming.

But... an hour before I was due to leave for temple, Xander had a meltdown.  His first full meltdown of his big-kid life.  Crying, not wanting to be touched, curled into a ball.  Then laying his head in my lap sniffling.

Why did we have to move to Florida?
I want to go home.
I miss Mateo.
I'm mad at YOU!  YOU made me move.  You could have stayed a rabbi in California.  I didn't want to go.

It went on.

Twist that knife a little deeper.

He's been really difficult lately, not listening, being rude and mean to his brothers and new friends.  Obviously it's related.  We're trying to figure out how to handle it.

My sermon last night was about the difficulty and the opportunity inherent in change, and how we as a community can handle anything as long as we stand together.

It worked well in the context of the congregation.

Not so much when you're six.