'Tis The Season

" 'Tis the season..." The phrase is oft repeated this time of year. It's a time for families. It's a time for rest and relaxation. And it's a time to be jolly. But not in Israel. Here late December means very little. There are a few parties and maybe people take some time off of work if Chanukah is towards the end of the month, but otherwise its a pretty normal time. I realized recently that this was the first late December of my entire life that I have had to work. Needless to say, it was a sad time for me.

The good news is that despite my lack of vacation, many friends have been able to use their breaks to come and visit. The other week, while out to dinner with visiting friends, Michelle and I randomly bumped into other visiting friends. Tonight we had dinner with a different friend and tomorrow we are hosting yet another visiting friend from the States. And of course next week we'll be hosting again. It's great. We are vacationing vicariously.

Seriously though, it has been wonderful to see so many friends over the past couple of weeks, and we are looking forward to more friends who will be visiting in February. Michelle and I are truly lucky to have friends who care enough to visit Israel, and more importantly, who like us enough to let us know that they are coming.