Natural Light Photography, by Aviva Rand: September 08 at Aviva Rand Photography

First of all, some of you told me that you never got the Summer newsletter. If you didn't, please email me and I will send it to you asap.
On to September, a new year again! So - have any of you actually gotten your life together yet? Bought the school supplies? Found each kid an outfit for yom tov yet? Who survived the "first week of September crazy zoo house at the shoe store?" And did the store have the shoe you wanted in your kids' sizes that fit your budget? (ok I'm asking too much, never mind!) Have you looked at your kids' schedules, your work schedule, your babysitter's schedule and actually got at least 80% of it to match out? How many of you finished your Rosh Hashana shopping list, succos meat lists, grocery and bakery lists, braved the trip to each respectable store (I am SO grateful to Glatt Mart's new parking lot and Pomegranate's Valet.. ) and amidst all the cooking, didn't forget about this past Shabbos menu?
And the biggest question, and I guess the most important of all - has anyone had ANY time to think about doing Teshuva?
Well for me, my answer is basically - no, to everything! So far, September feels like its been six months long. Between adjusting to my baby girl starting nursery in such a BIG school (yes she's doing just fine, I'm the one with the adjustment issues), making a birthday party for my one year old, and dealing with his new teeth coming in (and making their presence known LOUDLY at all sorts of inappropriate hours) juggling so many different schedules, thinking about cooking and meal planning, trying to buy a bunch of new toys to keep my kids occupied on Yom Kippur...I'm ashamed to say that Teshuva was the last thing on my mind.
Until yesterday, anyway. On Shabbos, my husband gave over a very thought-provoking dvar Torah. He said that it says in Parshas Nitzavim that Hashem will "gather you in... from the ends of the heavens." Its unusual for the Torah to use figurative language or metaphors so what exactly does it mean "ends of the heavens"? R' Simcha Zissel taught that as far away as we feel from Hashem, we have only to reach out to Him, grabbing at the "ends" so to speak, and from that place Hashem will bring us home. Just that little effort, that little reach... basically a small gesture that says "I'm still interested in trying" will be enough.
And for me this was a very encouraging thought. I don't know if I'm going to make major changes this year. I may say that I will or even believe that I will, but in the end I may or may not but I think I can make small gestures. I think I can still show I'm interested. I can try to get just the tips of my fingers to touch maybe just the very ends of the heavens and if Hashem does the rest I think I'll be ok.
I am honored to take the opportunity to wish all of my wonderful customers a wonderful year of hatzlacha, health, happiness, mazal tovs and besoros tovos and a year that all your tefilos should be answered l'tovah!