Pesach’s done, let the dough rise!

Although Judy stayed home for Pesach, she took a few “travel days” off from her column, so we’re reprinting her post-Pesach dispatch from 2012.

The last of the Pesach dishes, pots and pans have been stored away. The chametz dishes have been put back in place. The toaster oven, Kitchen Aid mixer and blender are back in their rightful spots on my counter and the cabinets that have been hiding forbidden chametz ingredients are opened.

As I sit down on Sunday morning to write this week’s column, I sigh with relief that my house is back in order, all my laundry is done and my pantry, refrigerator and freezers are stocked with every chametz food that we were denied these last eight days.

But I shouldn’t gloat now, should I? After all, those of us who stayed home and made Pesach should take a moment and think of those who had to start packing the moment Yom Tov was over. Not easy juggling all that packing and managing to make it down to the huge chametz parties that the hotels provide as soon as the chametz is bought back. And if that wasn’t hard enough, all those poor souls had to rush to the airport the next morning, deal with long lines and security checks. Then to top it off they have eight days worth of laundry to deal with. All of us who stayed home are sympathizing with you, really.

Ahh, the hustle and bustle after Pesach.

How I remember those days back when I was a kid. My job was to wrap each and every glass, glass dish and plate in newspaper so that they were insured to make it to the table in one piece the following year. When that was done I got to rip off the contact paper I so meticulously applied just a week before. Then the hard part, making sure no glue remnants were left on the counter. That was always a challenge. Whose idea was it anyway to use contact paper to cover the counters? Man had already landed on the moon by that time, couldn’t someone have invented those plastic counter top covers a few years earlier than their 1980s arrival?