Last year I shared how Passover is a difficult time for me because it marks the anniversary of my mother’s passing (Passover Without Mom). Many of you wrote in with positive suggestions for ways to heal and embrace the holiday with my husband and daughter.

One suggestion was to bake my mom’s favorite recipes or cook with my daughter to pass on her legacy. My mother had always been the one to prepare the food and holiday plans, so part of me was resisting assuming that role for fear it would highlight her absence. Of course I could pull out the Haggadah and start baking, but it’s a whole lot easier to go to my friend Judy’s and have the seder with her family.

But I’ve decided this is the year to stop my excuses–to embrace the holiday with my family and create new memories. Here’s my plan: We’ll spend the first night at Judy’s because we really love it there, then we’ll celebrate the second night at our house, where we’ll use JewishBoston.com’s Seder in a Box, a free customizable downloadable Haggadah, and the seder plate that Isabel and I made together last month.

I’m already looking forward to the morning after, when I’ll fry up some matzah for breakfast–mostly because it conjures up fond images of my mom doing the same. Then we’re off to spend the rest of Passover with friends in Washington, D.C. This will be Isabel’s first plane trip, and I hope it will be part of a great Passover memory for all of us.

Happy Passover!

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