Passover is over

It's Isru Hag (the Day after a major holiday)!! I've still got to get the matzoh out of my system, but it was a nice yuntif. My son was home for both seders. We had normal "crowds" in shul for all the days of the holiday. I don't lead the 2md Night Community Seder, but the reviews on both the food and the service were excellent. My 5 minutes in the Passover Playdate with the ECC children - was energizing. Torah readings and sermons went OK. Overall it was the downtime that I needed. I'm not yet myself, but at least I got some physical rest (and read two books for me.) Now I have to get my body back into shape after 4 months with minimal exercising.

I'm almost back

Well, it's 6 & 1/2 weeks since my mother died, three and half since my sister-in-law's passing and just over a week since my "uncle" passed away. In addition to several deaths within the Kehilat Shalom extended community - it's been a rough stretch. I've handled this amount of grief before in my 30 years as a rabbi, but never with three so close to home.
Looking back, I know I've been incredibly fortunate. The last death of someone truly close was my father's mother, which occurred in 1986. My father is doing amazingly well. I feel closer to my sisters ... who are beyond wonderful. Diane is doing pretty good and Tali's truly happy at School (and celebrated his 21st this past Sunday).
It's still hard to concentrate - I am really only productive for an hour or two a day. Minyan in the morning and the evening is a real comfort; as is all the support I've received and the slack people are cutting me. I find I'm looking forward to upcoming Bnai Mitzvah and weddings - trying to relocate the "balance in life" that I've almost always had and have lost in the past month. (And I'm really glad the cracks in the SW 737s were discovered after ... all the flights I've been on recently)