Mishpocha-
noun. (Yiddish)– the
entire family network of relatives by blood or marriage.
One would think, by
now, if you read the blog before last (yes,
the very, very long one), that I would’ve hit either gym I belong to at
least once and the very last place I would be going to is Manhattan. Truth be told, I haven’t gone to either
gym; however, I will be returning to Manhattan, today.
Yes, we are taking
my almost 90-year old mother, my almost three-month old granddaughter, along
with the walker (Tuby), the stroller and the car seat and other baby
paraphernalia into Manhattan again.
It’s just us girls attending my mother’s side of the family- the
wonderful Waltzers- for our not so annual
Waltzer Ladies Family Reunion, organized by my wonderful cousin, Nancy.
The last time we
did this was when I was a blonde, so it had to be sometime in 2009. With me, I can pinpoint the year by
looking at the color of my hair.
So much has changed in our lives since that time- my mother moved in, Kimberly changed her career route and is now
working in college administration, Lindsay got married and more surprisingly, got
her Masters and license in Special Education, and best of all, is now a mother
to the ultimate joy of my life, Lexi Grace.
My biggest change is that I am now a redheaded grandmother. We won’t
discuss the extra 10 pounds that I gained.
Lexi has met many
friends and family (mishbocha), so far.
Just this weekend alone, she met more of her father’s side of the
family- her Great Aunt Debbie and Great Uncle Lenny from North Carolina and
some cousins. And today she will
meet the wonderful Waltzer ladies- most of them anyway- including one of the
originals, her Great-Great Aunt Dorothy, who is going to be 97 years old this September.
I have been singing Lexi the songs that my Aunt Dorothy had sung to me when I was a little
girl--My Grandfather’s Clock and The
Lilac Tree song. I can’t wait
to see my aunt sing these to Lexi herself and I guarantee she will remember all
the words, even at 97. It will
make me very happy. And my cousin,
Andrea, and I plan on singing the Broadway show tune, Impossible, (from Cinderella) together to Lexi, as well. There will be lots of eating and
laughing and singing and storytelling, because that’s what the Wonderful
Waltzers do when they get together.
We have a very talented, funny and fun (and hungry) family. It
goes way back to all of the original Waltzer boys- they were famous musicians
who played on Broadway many decades ago.
And so, here we go
again, schlepping into the city of Manhattan. But not to take Lexi to that modeling
agency, that, incidentally, sent a rejection email to Lindsay saying that Lexi
was not ready for the camera yet.
(I want to just wake up that stupid girl who sent the email from a sound
sleep and see if she smiles when I take her picture.) Instead, we are going to Carmine’s,
naturally, because it’s right in the middle of Broadway where the Waltzer boys
played in the orchestras and also because it’s just about the best Manhattan
Italian restaurant there is and has the most delicious Chicken Scarpariello I
ever tasted.
But most
importantly, we are going to have fun, singing and laughing and telling funny
stories and eating with most of the Wonderful
Waltzer ladies and my wonderful Lexi will get her first chance to see what her
great grandma’s (Gigi) and
grandma’s (Mimi) mishbocha is really all about.
To be continued…(I have to get ready for the
big schlep)….
