At that point I admit to feeling slightly guilty that I had misjudged him.
“How much did you leave me?” I inquired hopefully.
“Enough for the whole year!” he confirmed.
“In cash?” I hoped against hope.
“Yes,” he assured me. “You owe me 40 shekel change…”
YEAH!!! I thanked him and hung up the phone. Emergency run to the bank averted at the eleventh hour!
I quickly got together the forty shekel, called his wife, and made the exchange. One hurdle down.
The next item on the agenda was to scan or fax a very time-sensitive contract that I had received the previous day. Both the scanner and the printer were hooked up to my husband’s computer exclusively. I am embarrassed to admit that despite training and working as a computer programmer for a couple of prestigious firms in an earlier life, I had evolved into a virtual technology ignoramus in my middle age. My husband was not scheduled to return home until late in the evening, and even he had encountered some difficulties with the temperamental scanner of late. Nevertheless, I bravely (perhaps fool-heartedly) decided to give it a try. Or two. Or perhaps three. Eventually, I shockingly hit it right. Success! I e-mailed the signed documents, and gave myself a proverbial pat on the back for a job well done. Luckily a mad dash to the neighborhood stationery store’s fax machine was no longer necessary either.
Then I moved on to my Shabbos menu. I was undoubtedly a big “k-nocker,” planning to minimize my purchases and maximize my freezer consumption instead. But did I actually have what I needed for Shabbos waiting patiently inside my huge upright freezer?
I donned a pair of gloves, spread a towel on the floor to absorb the melting ice, and undertook another unsavory task: emptying and inventorying the freezer.
B’chasdei Hashem, I found precisely enough chicken, prepared meat knishes and various other foods I required. Another visit to the store was also crossed off my to-do list, at least temporarily.
I placed the packages of chicken in the refrigerator to defrost, rearranged the rest of the frozen goods on the freezer shelves according to category, and felt a definite sense of accomplishment by the time I removed my gloves and flexed my semi-frozen fingers. Aside from the satisfaction and vindication of having found the Shabbos fare I was counting on, I had fortunately discovered a pan of prepared sweet and tangy ribs that I was unaware we still had. One less entrée to prepare for the upcoming Purim seudah!
Thankfully, I had the foresight to stock up on fresh vegetables during my Tuesday supermarket hop. This was undeniably the perfect weather for a soul-warming bowl of hot soup. So I took out the various ingredients and the cutting board and prepared to get to work.
But first I breathed an impromptu Thank-you to Hakadosh Baruch Hu for once again seeing to my family’s and my own needs b’chesed. And as I peered through the picture windows once more, I added another prayer of gratitude for the abundant gishmei bracha with which He was literally showering His Land.
