when living in texas becomes a good thing (at least for the wknd)

growing up in montgomery country i got used to getting out of school for major jewish holidays - rosh hashanah, passover, yom kippur... you name it, MCPS was recognizing it. it instilled in me a sincere appreciation for the jewish community and their influential role in our school system.

now that i'm in texas, it's safe to say that things are a wee bit different. jewish community? not so much. maybe a few here and there, but they're definitely not ruling the school system like they do in bethesda. now, of course, austin is a relatively liberal and progressive city - many people jokingly call it a dot of blue in a sea of red - but we're still in the heart of central texas and the seat of the state government. and for once i find myself appreciating those good ol' conservative texas christians, b/c good friday is totally a paid holiday.

that's right, read 'em and weep, kids - i have a three day wknd for easter! God bless the texans and their old-school religious ways! yee-haw!

i plan on celebrating the 3-day wknd with a trip out to dallas (God help me) to hang out w/my cousins and their kids (five kids under the age of ten btwn the two cousins and their respective families)... i wonder if perhaps there's something built into mr. rental minivan that is somehow triggering my maternal instincts? perhaps there's a secret chemical that blows out with the A/C that makes me want to load a slew of kids into the van and put on a DVD, say, the incredibles or something? or a little shrek?

whatever the cause, i'm off for good times w/the fam... i'll be back on sunday, so be good and have a great wknd!