And why, again, did you say, "Yes!" ?

It's after 5:30am on a weekday and I have been up for the past two hours. The day has been productive since I made and ate breakfast, made and packed my tote lunch, made and finished 3 cups of ground coffee, and made a litre of hot black gentleman's tea for the Thermos (to be consumed throughout the day). The dog and cat have been given their respective morning meals and I even managed to fully cook a pot of Rancho Gordo vaquero beans that had been soaking in vinegar water for two nights.
Last night I was invited to a Seder that was conducted al-fresco at the home of my Unitarian-Universalist minister. Passover this year began last Friday so this was actually night six of the holiday. No biggie. She had invited 20 people! Mind you, this is still COVID time and all were unmasked. I sat at a table next to Joe, a man who wore his pretentious Fedora throughout the entire evening and sat with his unzipped jeans either cross-legged or man-spread. Joe was engaged in conversation with Gabriela, a woman from Uruguay who was clearly brought by another man whose name I have since forgotten. Joe was recounting his trips hither, thither, and yon... New Orleans, various big cities in Mexico, Cuba? The man could make a trip to Oakland, CA sound like an adventure to Haiti (and not in a pleasant way).
I spoke little as this man's banter was a bit much to handle. He's the kind who would want to out-do others with a question; someone who might put an adolescent on the spot with a pointed, personal question that the child might not even understand.
The minister was asked if I needed to bring anything and the official invitation was sent the night before. It's a vegan meal, so in addition to making sure there are no forbidden grains in your offering, try to bring something that is gluten-free, diabetes-friendly, and of course, ORGANIC. I brought a bottle of wine (which I didn't drink since I don't drink).
The Seder was based on a feminist writer's Hagadah. There was an orange in the Seder plate. I had heard of such things at a gay synagogues Seder many years ago. Definitely not something to which I would return.
There were three empty seats at the end of the table; two facing each other and one at the very end. It was the setting for a loud and obnoxious couple and their pre-adolescent child (whose IQ is off the charts/off the scale... so I've been told). The child is basically allowed to run wild and say whatever he feels like saying (much like his arrogant father who lets everyone know that he is from Montreal, but speaks English).
The mother (who sat next to me) is also loud and brilliant in her own mind. She has a P-H-D in political science which, I guess, makes her a scientist. When I was in grade school this was called social studies. But I digress. The meal was served buffet style (not to my personal liking in the era of COVID). The Canadian father, for example, broke the matzah with his hands and put half of it back on the community platter. The young child was coughing with mouth uncovered. Mother was recounting the number of stupid students she has in her virtual class.
When I stood online, the young boy was between his mother and me. He began to sway back and forth, left and right. I thought he would reel into me. Was he having an episode? Was he exhibiting an off the charts/off the scale that was unfamiliar to me? I didn't ask because--honestly--I don't give a rat's a** about the parenting skills of these parents, the behavior of a pre-teenager who is allowed to run amuck, or the reason that people enjoy being loud and obnoxious in groups without alcohol as the blame for this altered state of consciousness.
My introduction to this P-H-D was actually my first encounter with the Unitarian-Universalist church in my neighborhood. She was asked to speak. And she opted to tell the story of her life. "My father was a Christian Scientist healer and my mother was a Jewish hypochondriac. They were a perfect match."
I had called her on that many years later. I was shocked and offended by 'outing' her parents with such characterizations. She smiled and seemed delighted that I had remembered it. She shrugged and said she wrote that when she was doing stand-up. "So it isn't real?" I had asked. "No, it's real. I just wrote it in stand-up comedy form." I wasn't laughing. Then again, I don't laugh at SEINFELD either.
I returned a few calls on the way home. I fell asleep in my clothes. That might explain why I am up and aroused during these early morning hours.
While I still enjoy my membership at this Unitarian-Universalist church and I still contribute to the denomination, I am going to give some long and hard thought as to just how much of this I want in my life.