Passover

Passover starts tonight. This year's seder will be much less elaborate than the ones we've had on the past, partly because nobody in our extended family was able to come this year, and partly because I've been so busy with the kitchen that I haven't done much to prepare for the holiday.

We've been talking to the kids about removing from our kitchen all foods containing chametz, bread or leavening agents. Traditionally, a feather is used to sweep any bread crumbs from the premises. We've never used a feather, but the kids have read about the practice in some of their Passover books. We've also discussed how we will be eating matzah instead of chametz during the week.

Yesterday we had the following conversation.

Me: "Tomorrow we'll need to look for all the chametz in our kitchen and take it out."

Seth: "But we don't have a feather."

Me: "Oh, you're right. Well, maybe we can find one somewhere."

Seth, looking as if he were tired of dealing with idiots: "You know, we could just use a broom."

And later, there was this conversation.

Me: During Passover, what kind of food do we not eat?"

Seth: Comet.

Me: Chametz, that's right. And what is chametz?

Seth: Cookies.

Me: Right, cookies and bread and cereal and macaroni and things like that. What do we eat instead of bread during Passover?

Lydia the optimist: Cupcakes!