Going Away Party

So, my going-away party at Yeshuat Yisrael was last night, and it was so much fun! I haven't smiled/laughed that much in a long time. In fact, my cheeks are still hurting (the thought of which just made me smile, and, in turn, hurt more... cue vicious cycle). Anyway, the moral is that it was absolutely the best party that I can remember having. I just went through all my pictures from it, and they made me so happy that I am going to share them with you and give you the walk-through that way.

This is the cake that Meret made. She doesn't know it, but I ate a slice, even though I hate cake. Why did I do that? Because everyone kept telling me that it was the best cake they'd ever eaten. So I tried it, and you know what? It was pretty amazing. I think I've finally found the answer to the question that everyone asks me when I tell them I hate cake. "You hate cake?! What are you going to do whenever you get married?!" (Yes, I go to a Christian School, and this cliché is so true here.) Anyway... my new answer: "I will have Meret make it."

These are a bunch of my TNU friends (and families) that showed up for my party. They came from near and far, and I was so happy they were there! Really... they made it so much better. We were all laughing the whole time.

You'll see that the plates are full of food. The foods that are on those plates are a lot of my favorites from Yeshuat Yisrael over the years, including Rabbi Ken's Chop Chop Salad and Jasmine Rice with coconut milk. Yum yum yum!

Later, the beautiful DeMetri Moon came by with her sweet baby, Paisley Grace, who succeeded in entertaining us all with what is apparently her new favorite: the surprised face. This kid is ridiculous. At first, she was shy (for the first time I've ever known her to be), but, as she warmed up, this face came out, to a rousing round of laughter. She must have liked that, because she kept doing it ever few minutes for the rest of the time she was there. P.S. Her momma told me that this munchkin is running now. Running. Kids grow up too fast.




Paisley wasn't the only one that performed that evening, either. Between a lot of jokes and a hilarious Sci-fi routine, the boyfriend got up and did a rap that impressed the congregation so much that they asked him to do it again later. He was assisted by Ms. Allison Lafoe on the beatbox... sort of.









And Rabbi Ken's Sci-fi, comedy routine consisted of a mad-scientist and a Blue Man Group impersonation. It was hilarious.

After all of that, they had me sing, and then they prayed for me. People got confused then and thought it was time to leave, but that was okay. I thought it was time to leave for a second too. BUT IT WASN'T! Nope... it was present time!

They gave me some excellent new Samsonite luggage (see above), and Suzanne, a member of the congregation, gave me her Samsonite carry-on. Plus, they gave two bags of Sour Patch Kids (my favorites) and some toiletries. (They're still planning on sending me toiletries every month... they're so amazing.) Alex and her family gave me some crucial journaling supplies, since Alex sees me journaling all the time. (She knew I was going to need more.) That was pretty ironic, since I had been looking at getting another journal earlier that day, but had just not found one that I liked. Yay, Alex! (In addition... she and her family gave me a HP 7.2 movie poster!!!)
In summary, my party was awesome, my friends are awesome, and G-d is awesome. The end.