{"id":47564,"date":"2025-09-12T01:38:49","date_gmt":"2025-09-12T08:38:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/?p=47564"},"modified":"2025-09-11T08:45:00","modified_gmt":"2025-09-11T15:45:00","slug":"the-bodychecks-a-wake-up-call","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/2025\/09\/12\/the-bodychecks-a-wake-up-call\/","title":{"rendered":"The bodycheck\u2019s a wake-up call"},"content":{"rendered":"

Our family caught a big summer cold this August. We went to two crowded pavilions at Folklorama, Winnipeg\u2019s international festival, earlier in August and I got sick. For all kinds of reasons, moms \u201ccan\u2019t\u201d get sick. I was cooking and doing carpool and canning pickles and chutney while feeling worse every day. Fatigued, with a stuffed nose and goopy cough to boot. It wasn\u2019t COVID and I soldiered on. My husband helped when he could.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Of course, after me, one twin got sick, then my husband and, finally, twin #2 began to get sick. This cold might last for weeks in our household. Families know how this story goes. We spent Labour Day weekend in the usual way: I lined up an appointment at a walk-in clinic for a twin who might now have an ear infection. Our only long weekend outings were to walk the dog around the neighbourhood. At least we\u2019re not dealing with the \u201cbroken bone on three-day weekend\u201d story yet.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This situation has more in common with Rosh Hashanah than one might think. In the lead-up to Rosh Hashanah, during Elul, we\u2019re supposed to reflect and repent for what\u2019s happened over the last year. We need to be accountable for what we\u2019ve done.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe King is in the field\u201d \u2013 this phrase is supposed to mean that G-d is nearby to help. Maybe we\u2019re able to engage with this divine project more easily outdoors. For those of us who can get out into nature, even to an urban park or residential neighbourhood, we\u2019re surrounded with gardens, produce, flowers and leaves in their last grand hurrah at this time of year. In Winnipeg, due to our dry smoky summer, we\u2019re already beginning to see dead leaves. Time is short, we need to take advantage of this rich harvest season.<\/p>\n

This accounting every year for Rosh Hashanah has us debating how we\u2019ve wronged others, failed in our relationships to our families, our communities and with the Creator. However, if we circle back again to the story of the sniffling mom, we can ask ourselves something else. How have we wronged or failed ourselves? What can we do to improve our closest relationships, to ourselves and to our families?<\/p>\n

During this summer season, I\u2019ve had ample time to examine things because, in the end, my family didn\u2019t travel anywhere. We weren\u2019t even outside that much. I feel a little like we\u2019ve been robbed. We had Winnipeg\u2019s smokiest summer ever. I have asthma, so I had to be indoors more than I would have liked. My husband, a professor and associate department chair, had a heavy burden of administration, as well as research students in his lab, which resulted in him going into work while theoretically on vacation. Somehow, I signed kids up for a patchwork of camps. They enjoyed themselves but I spent a lot of time dropping off and picking up kids and didn\u2019t get much of a break when they were home either. Of course, the ongoing war in Gaza, the Canadian response to it and the rise in antisemitism offers an underlying current of stress, too. Plus, we had some challenges about where the twins would end up for high school this fall.<\/p>\n

Long story short, catching a cold? It\u2019s a wonder we made it this far, to be honest.<\/p>\n

All around me, I see others struggling in the 24\/7 bad news feed. Meanwhile, I was grasping for positive conclusions, hopeful signs and a change for the better. My sign came suddenly \u2013 and in a way I didn\u2019t expect.<\/p>\n

My son and I were out on a dog walk in the neighbourhood. Our historic area has a kilometre loop that\u2019s a frequent track for runners, bikers and families but, this year, it\u2019s under construction so it\u2019s less busy. (Oh yeah, did I mention the torn-up roads, dust, noise and diggers?)<\/p>\n

We meandered on the narrow sidewalk, chatting, as the dog sniffed and read the \u201cpee mail.\u201d Out of the blue, we heard someone run up behind us and say an abrupt, \u201cExcuse me!\u201d My kid jumped into the grass. I pulled our large dog close and scooted to the right.<\/p>\n

Nonetheless, a large male runner bodychecked me as he ran by. I stood, stunned. The man could have detoured on the grass. He could have chosen the empty street. Instead, he barreled into me, because we didn\u2019t get out of his way fast enough. There are so many issues here: right of way, safety, courtesy, male power plays and respect for others. For me, though, maybe it took this incident to remind me that before I can repent for anything big, I need to focus on repairing my relationship with myself.<\/p>\n

I shouldn\u2019t have to get bodychecked on the sidewalk near my house. I deserve better than that. And, maybe, I \u2013 and my household \u2013 also need more vacation, breaks from stress and better self-care.<\/p>\n

Examining how we got to where we are is the first step towards making better plans. I have learned a few things. When we leave the fun vacation trip planning to the last minute, the trip never happens. When the smoke or the stress is bad, I\u2019m more prone to sickness. When it looks like something bad is barrelling towards us, I need to do a better job of getting myself out of the way.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t get me wrong, I think the runner was wrong. He shouldn\u2019t have done what he did. He should have apologized at the least. He should do his own repentance. But, as I jokingly remind my kids, \u201cG-d helps those who help themselves.\u201d Maybe if I\u2019m hoping 5786 will be a better year, I need to make changes and apologize to myself, too.<\/p>\n

Self-reflection and teshuvah<\/i> (repentance) is hard work, but sometimes the outcome might be surprising. Perhaps the reflection will also mean taking better care of ourselves.<\/p>\n

Wishing you a healthy, happy, meaningful new year, full of safe sidewalks, peace and good things!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Joanne Seiff <\/b>has written regularly for the <\/i>Winnipeg Free Press and various Jewish publications. She is the author of three books, including <\/i>From the Outside In: Jewish Post Columns 2015-2016, a collection of essays available for digital download or as a paperback from Amazon. Check her out on Instagram @yrnspinner<\/a> or at joanneseiff.blogspot.com<\/a>.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Our family caught a big summer cold this August. We went to two crowded pavilions at Folklorama, Winnipeg\u2019s international festival, earlier in August and I got sick. For all kinds of reasons, moms \u201ccan\u2019t\u201d get sick. I was cooking and doing carpool and canning pickles and chutney while feeling worse every day. Fatigued, with a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[218,8302,1801,24328,19791,7394],"class_list":["post-47564","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-op-ed","tag-judaism","tag-lifestyle","tag-rosh-hashanah","tag-self-care","tag-self-reflection","tag-teshuvah"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47564","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47564"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47564\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47564"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47564"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47564"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}