Three of a Kind

This morning, I went to minyan with a friend who had Yahrtzeit for her mother. It also turns out that another friend has Yahrtzeit for her mother today as well. Normally, in the minyan at school, I am the single voice during the Kaddish. When I go home, I am one of many, mostly older individuals saying Kaddish. Today, was the first time I was one of three, women, around the same age, saying Kaddish together. I didn’t have my usual, uncomfortable reaction to saying the Kaddish, I wasn’t alone. I felt empowered and connected. It isn’t that I don’t feel anything when I say Kaddish alone, it’s just that saying it, with the voices of three women, my age who have made it through this experience and come out on top, brought me a sense of comfort I have not yet felt in my year of saying Kaddish. Today, nobody stared at me, no one looked to see why I was saying Kaddish so young. No one heard my single voice. Today, I felt connected, strengthened by the presence of these two wonderful women.