Omer 2017 Day 36: Go Cubs Go

Omer Introduction | Day 35 | Day 37

Day 36: Chesed in Yesod, Loving-Kindness in Connection

Go Cubs Go by Steve Goodman


Go Cubs Go
Go Cubs Go
Hey Chicago, what d'you say?
The Cubs are gonna win today

When I was planning out this blog last year, the Cubs had not yet won the World Series and, while I begin every baseball season with sincere belief in my Cubbies, I couldn't bring myself to pre-write a blog post assuming that we would be World Series Champions. It had gone wrong too many times before. Instead, I assigned this song to chesed in netzach, love in victory, on day 22 and dreamed of the day when my undying love for the Cubs would be rewarded with the ultimate W.

And then they won! So I scrapped my blog post (well, I posted it early), chose a Frank Sinatra song for day 22 that better embodied love in endurance, and moved on. But tomorrow morning will mark four months since my grandpa passed away and he was the world's biggest Cubs fan, so today, in his memory, I give you Go Cubs Go for the 36th day of the Omer.

To understand how this song relates to loving-kindness in connection, you have to know a few things about my grandpa. First, he was married for 62 years, raised four daughters, and had ten grandchildren and five great-grandchildren; he built and was surrounded by a loving family. At 92 years old, he had lived through many things: the Depression, WWII, the discovery of Pluto, the invention of the microwave, and 91 straight years of World Series disappointments. But still, he watched every Cubs game without fail his whole life. My other grandpa used to swear that he couldn't die until the Cubs won the World Series, but he missed it by four years. So when my mom called on January 17, 2017, to tell me that my grandpa had died, it was no surprise that she added, "At least he got to see the Cubs win." At the wake, my grandma propped his Cubs hat next to him in the casket and she made sure that he was buried in the Cubs World Series shirt (worn under his suit) that my cousin Richie had bought him just a couple months before.

Go Cubs Go represents the love of family, celebrating victories with friends, and the eternal hope for a brighter future.

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