A New Year

525,600 minutes.

Nearly that many minutes have elapsed since the year 5769 began.

525,600 minutes.

It has nearly been that many minutes since my Bubbe died.

Where have these minutes gone?

How can I measure how I spent the last year of my life, a year without Bubbe?

I've laughed, I've cried, I've grown, I've learned, I've closed some chapters in my life, and begun to write others.

I've experienced more pain and more joy. Never had I sat days before Rosh HaShana really thinking about where the last year has gone. Really evaluating who I was as a person this past year, as a daughter, as a granddaughter, as a sister, as a student, as a teacher, as a friend.

I have been measuring who I am and who I am becoming. I have been making sure I savior every single one of the 525,600 minutes in the year.

Never have I thought about Rosh HaShana in this way. Measuring my life in 5769 as I look to seasons and opportunities 5770 will bring for me.

Entering the new year with a somber heart from missing my Bubbe can only help me look to the next 525,600 minutes I have to grow, live, and remember.

The book of life may close but the connection remains into the new year.

May we all be sealed for a new year, a year full of sweetness, love, laughter, and growth. Shana Tova.