בס''ד
We made Aliyah [moved to Israel] twenty-three years ago and our only regret was that we didn’t come earlier....even though earlier wasn’t the right time, but that’s for another blog.
Living in Israel, our homeland, with its ups and downs, is an honour and privilege.
One of the very few things that I miss from my birth country Canada is autumn. Israel has only two seasons, winter and summer.
Growing up in Montreal, by the middle of August, the weather was changing and so was the season.
The arrival of Autumn meant summer vacation was almost over and we would go back to school. The chagim [the Jewish High Holidays] were not far away and my mother a”H would be busy baking and cooking.
The best part of autumn for me were the leaves changing colours.
I loved to stand on our apartment balcony and see how many colours I could count. Red, orange, yellow, orange, brown leaves, the combination producing a magnificent sight.
As a child, a Sunday afternoon treat, was when my parents would take my brother a”H and I for a drive to the Laurentian Mountains
The fallen leaves lined the mountain tops and the highway. Along the route were look-outs where you could stop and enjoy the view.
Jumping into piles of leaves was so much fun. My brother and I would race to see who could gather more leaves to make the bigger pile.
For years, usually on Labour day. [first Monday in September] we would have an extended family adventure to the Laurentians.
My dad and uncles would plan where we could stop to have a picnic and my mom and aunts would make sandwiches and bring thermoses filled with hot water. The adults had their coffee and we kids enjoy hot chocolate.
I remember having so much fun playing ball and tag with my cousins. While my mom and her sisters sat, talked and knitted, my dad and uncles would take us on a walk on one of the trails to look at the scenery.
Each family had a Brownie camera and we kids had fun taking pictures of each other, rocks and of course the trees
By the middle of the afternoon, the wind would pick up and it was time to go home. We said our good-bys with hugs and kisses.
Many autumns came and went, I grew up, got married and had kids.
My dad’s greatest pleasure was to take his grandchildren on a Sunday afternoon drive to the Laurentians to see the Autumn leaves.
Typing this blog, I am smiling, remembering my parents, my brother and our childhood.
Memories are a wonderful gift.
That’s all for now. Feel free to comment.
Miriam
