Chill Out

In recent years, as tu b'shvat came closer, a flurry of excitement passed through my friends and classmates.

"Tu b'shvat higiah, chag labachurot!"

Or, more direct:

"The freezer (clap)
Is open (clap)
The freezer (clap)
Is open (clap)
Go out (clap clap)
Don't get cold feet!"

Some were decidedly less cheesy. A simple "Its tu b'shvat, where will you be tonight?" And of course, people made some heavy assumptions. I'm sure every female reading this has gotten both the text and the email of the poorly photoshopped yeshivah guys popping out of the freezer. The wedding music that always accompanied this text/email made the expectations pretty clear.

And people always rushed to provide.

The first year post seminary, a huge number of girls got engaged within the first month after tu b'shvat. The second year, too, saw a bunch of engagements littering the front page of only simchas. But then the numbers start to dwindle. After a while, a girl gets older. She looks at the newly defrosted yingelach as cute little boys. And when I say cute, I mean it purely in the little kid sense.

If the folks at NASI will just excuse me for saying this, I am pretty sure I'm a little too old to get excited by the freezer door opening.

I won't deny it. My father asked me to pass the fruit plate on shabbos. I told him it was too heavy. "Just tell me what you want me to pass you."
My father looked at the plate. "I want some dates."
My answer was so obvious, everyone looked at me expectantly, waiting to hear it. "Me too."

But somehow, I just don't see him as still being partially frozen...