Let the Games Begin

When we were little, cereals weren't chosen based on sugar and fiber content, but on the toys they held inside. The best toys were the ones that came in sets, so that after digging our grubby hands through five boxes of cereal we would be left with five flimsy and colourful plastic playthings. These boxes were always emblazoned with the command "Collect the whole set!" Today I began to collect the whole set of students. My hands are a little less grubby and the collection is a little less flimsy, but the game is just the same.

To be fair, I work at a Bnei Akiva school, and the kids are encouraged from conception to spend a year/lifetime in Israel. Also, I may have invited them all over for Shabbat. Regardless, when I make the sweaty trek in a t-shirt and shorts to the Old City, my expectation is to see the sights, not to meet a minyan of my boys, and later, on a sidestreet, some Grade 10 girls. Of course, the first words spoken were "I didn't recognize you without a tie!" I suppose I should have worn a tie, being that it is summer vacation, the weekend, 85 degrees, and ISRAEL. Silly me.