A Good Place

I wonder how many of you have noticed the nesting geese in front of the Temple? Have you been chased across the street by an assertively defensive Poppa Goose? Has Momma Goose stood up as you walked by to reveal the eggs (and a bagel) that sit in the nest? I, for one, have been fascinated by this urban fowl family. When the geese first nestled in on that parched piece of dirt in the middle of our busy neighborhood, I wondered what on earth they were thinking to set up household here?

One of my earliest literary memories is reading Make Way for Ducklings with my grandmother. I cannot help but think that my fascination with the goslings can be attributed to my memories of the Robert McCloskey duck family. Grandma would often take my brothers and me on trips to the Public Garden, which usually included a ride on the swan boats. Those languid paddles around the lagoon, the towering weeping willows, the respite of a walk around the Gardens in the middle of a hot, busy, smelly city – all of these sensations are imbedded in memory with the fictional ducks and their search for a safe place to build a nest and all the characters they meet and misadventures they have along the way. Isn’t it remarkable to think about how fictional characters and images can be woven so intimately into our own memories that they become a part of what we hold and feel?

How did you decide where to live? Or where to work (and did that determine where you live)? What makes a place “good” for your family? So many of our families are from other places and choose to settle here in the Boston area. How do we create new connections to a place that make it home? Many of our current FJECC families are getting ready to say goodbye to this place that has been a home for their family for the past few years. At the pre-Shabbat sing coffee this morning, parents were talking about their upcoming transition from the FJECC “bubble” to the world of elementary school. I like to think there are many memories (for children and for adults) that have been woven with our stories and songs and rituals that will accompany them as they venture into the next phase of their “home” life.

Shabbat Shalom, 
Amy 

P.S. The goslings hatched this morning!