Happy Chanukah!
Chanukah, from what the rabbis tell me, means Dedication, as in the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem after misuse, when one night’s worth of oil lasted for eight nights. The dogs rededicated themselves by going for their pre-holiday haircuts (and kerchiefing), and Mom started a new tradition of sewing her holiday cards instead of buying or printing them. I’ve decided that I’m going to rededicate myself to joy, and love, and fun. It’s so much easier to dedicate myself to work, or exercise, or obligations, because the internal and external pressures towards those goals are enormous. But fun? The dogs think I have lost too much of my oomph in this area, and I agree.
Cricket before her haircut,
and after.
Butterfly before
and after.
When I was little, my mom used to make scavenger hunts for me and my brother, for each night of Chanukah, as a way to make up for how small our presents were. One night, we split a package of dimes from the bank; one night my father came home with a used VCR for the whole family that someone else was giving away; we got packages of plastic combs, and socks, and small bags of candy. But we didn’t care, because it was the time and care Mom put into those scavenger hunts that was magical to us. She’d write clues on index cards and hide them throughout the house, one card leading to the next, until we found the ultimate prize.
My brother was convinced that the size of our presents meant that we were poor, even thought we had a nice house, and two family cars, and we both went to private school (on scholarships). But really, Mom was so careful with money, because our father was profligate. He put a lot away for retirement, and bought himself presents, and liked to give gifts to other people. He didn’t understand why I would need regular shoes and sneakers. He was especially angry when my feet grew so fast that I needed a second pair of shoes in less than a year.
My brother chose to ignore the profligacy, and focus on the poverty, and aimed for a good upper middle class career in his adult life. I focused on the unfairness, and the confusion, and ended up as a writer and a fledgling social worker.
But both of us love the play time of Chanukah, and being able to remind ourselves of the joy of running through the house looking for those hidden index cards in Mom’s handwriting, letting us know that we were the most important people in the world to her.
The dogs like to think of every day as a scavenger hunt for treats that will magically fall from the sky just for them. They’re pretty sure that every day should be a holiday, full of treats, and love and joy.
“The treats are coming! The treats are coming!”
“The treats are hiding under the snow, Mommy.”
“Wheeeeeeeeeeeee!”
rachelmankowitz 
Happy Chanukah Rachel. Cricket and Butterfly look great. Hope you have more time in ’17 for fun and taking your dogs for a romp
Thank you! Happy holidays! Cricket has been doing a snow dance, every morning, to force me to stay home and play with her. We’ll see if it works!
Happy Chanukah, Rachel! Cricket and Butterfly look adorable in their new haircuts and kerchiefs. Our groomer used to send Daisy and Muffin home like that, and I just loved it! I am so happy to hear about your rededication to love, joy and fun, and by the looks of your photos, your girls definitely agree.
Thank you! Happy holidays! (I had to move the wrapping paper, though, because Butterfly thought that was her holiday treat!)
Parker is a ribbon kind of gal…..yes, that was moved, too.
Ha!
Happy Chanukah Rachel. ❤
Thank you! Happy holidays!
Same to you !
Butterfly and Cricket look awesome, of course. You have taken on a challenging goal for yourself, one that reflects a self-awareness most people lack. Happy Chanukah to you.
Happy holidays! Thank you!
Happy Chanukah! Butterfly & Cricket look beautiful after their haircuts. Here’s to a new year of more fun!😄
Cricket went running in the mud as soon as possible, of course!
Very cute dogs. Happy Chanukah!
Thank you! Happy Holidays!
Happy Chanukah! Joy love and fun are great things to rededicate yourself to!
Thank you! Happy holidays to you too!
And to you)
Thank you!
Happy Chanukah and thanks for your posts!
Thank you!
Money isn’t everything. Happiness is.
Yes!
I hope they know how cute their haircuts are! And sure wish we’d have dome snow over here
Cricket believes that her extra cuteness should mean that she gets to share her grandma’s pancakes. (Don’t tell her, but I think it might work.)
Lovely piece and pics. Wishing you and your family happiness 💝
Thank you and to you too!
Happy Chanukah Rachel, Cricket, and Buterfly! Wishing you lots of goodness. The ZAB team.
Thank you so much! Happy holidays to you too!
The haircuts look great. Glad you plan on rededicating yourself to joy, love and fun!
Thank you! Miss Cricket is planning to roll in the mud at any moment, for the sake of joy, of course.
Happy Hanukkah!
Happy Hanukkah to you!
Happy Chanukah, Rachel!
Chanukah Sameach to you!
Happy Chanukah Rachel. I always loved how Chanukah is about bringing light and we sure need more light in the world right now. Now I learned something new about it.. Dedication. I think you are smart to rededicate yourself to joy, it’s to easy to let all the outside forces bully us into anxiety and misery. The girls look great and I love the photos.
Thank you so much! Cricket will never admit it, but I think she feels lighter and happier after her haircut. She even glows in the dark!
Perfect for Chanukah then! LOL
Happy Chanukah & Blessings Of Light!
Thank you and to you too!
Happy holidays from us… 🎄🎅
Thank you and to you too!
Such a wonderful time of the year. God is good. Merry Christmas.
Happy holidays!
I really enjoyed this post. Your mother’s scavenger hunts sound like so much fun. If I ever get to care for my granddaughter, I may try to do something similar. I also appreciate your commitment “to rededicate myself to joy, and love, and fun.” Obviously you “get it” that life is more than going through the motions, but sometimes we get worn down and forget what’s important or at least I know I do. I wish you a wonderful Chanukah.
Thank you so much!
A lovely post Rachel. Happy Holidays, and hugs and treats for Cricket and Butterfly by proxy. 🙂
Thank you! Happy Holidays!
Happy Hanukkah
Thank you!!!!!!!! And to you!
The pups looks great! Ba-ruch A-tah Ado-nai E-lo-he-nu Me-lech Ha-olam she-heche-ya-nu ve-ki-yi-ma-nu ve-higi-a-nu liz-man ha-zeh. Happy Chanukah.
Happy Happy!
A characteristically thoughtful and reflective piece; thank you, Rachel, and Happy Chanukah!
Thank you! Happy holidays!
Happy Hanukkah and Chanukah! I like the tradition of re dedication something to remember that time of re dedication of the temple for own our lives and love the tradition of the scavenger hunt. No matter how we celebrate or what our traditions are we have a God that loves us tremendously and we should always remember His miracles and provisions for us. Glad that Butterfly and Cricket enjoy them too!! 🙂 May God bless you and your family in the coming year with lots of fun and many happy memories yet to be made.
Definitely dedicated to your sweet pups. I never questioned the one small gift we got. It was the gilt that I was after. Happiest of holidays.
Happy holidays to you all! Butterfly and Cricket look lovely with their haircuts! 🙂
Thank you! Happy holidays!
Love seeing your fur kids all prettied up and playing in the snow. Thanks for sharing some of your holiday memories and best of holidays to you!
Thank you!
Thank you for sharing your memories, totally enjoyed it! Happy Chanukah Rachel!
Thank you and Happy holidays to you!
A Lovely Post! Happy Chanukah to you and the gorgeous pups
Thank you and to you too!
Your posts always make me smile. I love the before and after shots but especially the weeee! pic. Lately I’ve been feeling that same sense of missing the joy and fun of life. I took to reading the Psalms and wondering why despite the promise of joy in the Judeo-Christian belief system I’ve felt so lacking.Maybe it is rededicating myself… but it seems easier to rededicate myself to work than to force myself to find joy 🙂 Wonder why that is.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS, Rachel
A
Happy holidays! My Bible study class is working through the Proverbs now, and for some reason this has led to an enormous amount of hilarity. Who knew?!
What a great idea. Happy Chanukah. I had Matzoball soup.
How lovely. I’ve learnt something today – thank you. I love the idea of rededicating ourselves to joy, and love, and fun too. May the year ahead be filled with all three for you. 🙂
Thank you!
Pingback: Choosing Happy Things | Nature Knows Best
Rededication to joy! I love it. The girls look great, too!
Thank you!!!!!!!
Hi I came here via Judithreid at Nature Knows Best. This is a lovely post, and your dogs are so sweet. I look forward to popping by often in 2017. Happy New Year.
Thank you so much!
Awww. I bet they felt great after their haircuts. I always do. Feels nice to have a little of the old stuff taken off.
Sounds like whatever your true circumstances were your mom made some GREAT memories for you. Your sharing reminded me of a time that my mother, brother, and I were going to be gone for Father’s Day so we set up a scavenger hunt for my dad. But somehow he found one of the middle clues. I can’t remember if he followed it or what exactly happened, but I do remember that he found it before Father’s Day. Sigh. Sadly, I have no one to ask.
Happy New Year, Dear. I wish you much joy, love, and fun! You can do it!
Thank you! Miss Cricket feels SO much better, but she will never admit it.
Happy Chanukah!
Don’t you just love a good smelling, soft pup right after a hair cut? And they’re so proud, strutting around.
Thank you! Cricket had been smelling like eye snot, pretty profoundly, so her current baby powder smell is totally working for me!
Happy Chanukah.
Both Cricket and Butterfly look tiny in the snow. they looked happy after their grooming session.
Thank you! They were surprisingly happy after their haircuts. I think the hair was weighing them down more than they wanted to admit.
Happy Hanukah, Rachel, Cricket, Butterfly and Rachel’s Mom. Just wanted to let you know – since I am sure you will get a notice – that I’m “re-following” your blog since I have not been getting email notices of new posts for quite some time now.
Thank you!!!!!!!!!
Happy Chanukah!
Dogs teach us so much about pure joy, but I’m still not willing to roll on some else’s poop and call it perfume. 🙂
Seriously, just watching the simple things that make our 4-footed companions happy, and how easily they enjoy those moments, teaches us so much.
Happy New year!
Reread this because you write well and honestly, and I love how your mind works. Although you are not Catholic, you might enjoy Mark Shriver’s ‘Pilgrimage’, about his search for the meaning of his life by researching that of Pope Francis. Very inspirational.
Thank you!
sweet reflection
of what is of value!
happy new year 🙂
Happy New year!
After commenting about Cricket’s slide, I woke up today thinking of a great idea: an incline bed; not for sitting up but a full incline so we don’t have to sleep lying down. That might slide us into the dream state better and cure insomnia for many of us!
Intriguing!
Rachel, I adore you blog, thank for visiting mine. I think that you are channeling your dogs perfectly – I think that what they think is so accurately perceived. Happy New year and lots of snow!
Thank you so much! Happy New Year!
I really like the handmade card.
What better goal than to re-dedicate yourself to joy, love and fun? I think that is a wonderful plan.
Funny you refer to yourself as a “writer and a fledgling social worker.” I would refer to myself as a social worker and fledgling writer!!
I think if more of us would view life as the dogs do…this would be a better world!!
Happy New Year!
Happy New Year to you Rachel
Wonderful! Love the before and after pictures of the dogs – really makes me realize how much Charly should have a grooming visit – God help the groomer.
I loved the story of the scavenger hunt at Chanukah…what a special person your mother must be.
Happy New Year – be as joyful as Cricket and Butterfly – let the good times roll in 2017!
Cricket was in desperate need of a hair cut. She was starting to bump into things, because she could barely see through her mop.
They are so cute,
Thank you!
Swishing you all joy and happiness for2017