Wednesday, March 18, 2009

The Countdown Commences

The 'P' word. Yes, I know BOSD, fear of the name increases fear of the thing itself, according to Professor Albus Dumbledore, at least. But, it makes me feel better, 'kay?

This year will be my first year doing it by myself. I'm an only girl, so at home, I did it as well, just, together with my mother. Now, I'm on my own. And, with a little one to boot. So, I'm allowed to be scared of it, okay?

Here goes. Deep breath, "Pesach." Rosh Chodesh is in 2 weeks, that means Pesach is in a little less than a month. And my countdown commences. 3 bedrooms to do. Kitchen to clean and kasher. Pesach stuff to unload. Cooking to start. Help my neighbor with her house. And somehow, do this all before Seder night. Can I start freaking out now, or would it be preferable to wait till later?

I know, tackle it a bit at a time. But according to this article on MII, I'm already behind. Yikes.
I prefer not to think about it, and then panic later.

ProfK describes the syndrome and it's consequences. Ima on the Bima is actually excited for cleaning.

How do you handle Pesach Panic?
Edit: I totally subscribe to Mrs. S's version of Pesach cleaning system!

Respond in comments please- as I'm a member of the I love comments club :)

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

I don't want to scare you, but it's actually three weeks from tonight. Best to be prepared. :)

nmf #7 said...

MII- La la la- I'm not listening...:)

Mrs. S. said...

Thanks for the link!

Yes, I'm a big believer in denial, avoidance, and blogging-in-lieu-of-actual-cleaning...
:-)

Chag kasher v'same'ach to you and yours!

ProfK said...

nmf#7,
The panic is built into the system. Those who are not panicking yet are either going home to their parents or are using the wrong calendar.

Thanks for the link. Now take a deep breath, square your shoulders and head into the cleaning fray. I'll just bet that they didn't mention this part in any of your kallah classes.

Something Different said...

Don't thank me for my wise words of advice. I was just quoting a dude with a lot of life experience. (Does pesach count as a dark wizard?)
Ya know, I think you should be very glad that you have a small house to clean. Imagine if you lived in a mansion....
And make your husband do his fair share...works for my sister-in-law! (Yeah, and makes my mother kick herself...why didn't she think of that??)
It'll happen. Relax. (Just don't read about super organized people's methods of cleaning. They don't follow their own advice, you certainly shouldn't.)
Ok. 'nuff rambling. I'm off to get some coffee. :-p

Miss Teacher said...

can't say I'm jealous... I still blissfully hop a plane and spend pesach at my parents (though this year I am arriving a week before pesach just in time to clean and kasher the kitchen and dining room, oh and of course to cook cook and cook.)

nmf #7 said...

Mrs. S.- blogging instead of cleaning? No, I'm not procrastinating at all, I'm fulfilling my creative dreams and writing :) And a Chag Kasher V'Sameach to you too!

ProfK- no, they most certainly did not talk about this one :)

SD- Ahh, a Harry Potter fan. Always happy to meet one of those. Actually, Pesach might be a good spell, no? Like Alohomora...
Grateful as always that I don't live in a mansion- this apartment is big enough for me as it is :)
Don't worry, Mr. NMF already offered, but I turned him down. It's so much easier to do the cleaning myself and send him off on miscellaneous errands instead.

MissTeacher- have fun!! Cooking is the fun part- it's the kashering and making sure my neighbors' kids haven't dropped chametz where I least expect it that is the hard part.

Miss Teacher said...

I will have fun - this might be the last year I get to do this!
Cooking is fun but we have a lot of chumros that make it slightly tedious and sometimes annoying.

halfshared said...

I have no words of comfort. I thrive on pressure :-). Good luck with everything. It will get done!

nmf #7 said...

Thanks HS- I know we all arrive at the Seder at the same time, but still... I think I'm not going to think about it too much till after Shabbos.

Something Different said...

NMF- till after shabbos......hagadol? ;)

chanie said...

One word of advice: dirt is not chametz. I repeat: dirt is not chametz. You just had a baby, don't drive yourself nuts making sure everything is 100% spic-and-span. Just get rid of the chametz- the dirt can stay till you have the koach to get rid of it.

chanie said...

Sorry- till you can get rid of it without any extra stress.

nmf #7 said...

Chanie- Mr. NMF keeps telling me that- but I don't believe him! After all, all the chametz crumbs in our books could add up to a kezayis, couldn't they? :-)

nmf #7 said...

SD- Harhar. I wish.

chanie said...

Your husband is right...and I doubt it.
Also, remember that chametz is only defined as something a dog would eat- if it's not something that dogs would want, then it's not chametz (ie, moldy bread that is so full of mold you can hardly tell it was brown).