You know the best part about converting? Preparing for a mitzvah IS a mitzvah, so I will eventually get “credit” for all the things I’m doing pre-Conversion 2.0.
Why is this awesome? It means that even my most awful, stupid mistakes are actually a mitzvah in themselves rather than being a chet that might turn into a lesson, and through that teshuva, become part of a mitzvah. At least, that’s how I understand things 🙂 But I’m always glad when I make mistakes because I know that the mistake had to be made at some point, and I’m glad it’s not when I’m legally Jewish. And that hopefully, I’ve learned from it and won’t do it again!
This is most applicable to my kitchen. For the first time in my life, I’m cooking. A lot. We don’t have a kosher restaurant (ours lost its certification), so I’ve been mostly cooking my own food since June. Granted, I use a lot of frozen foods for my “lazy student” days. And never before in my life has a place full of inanimate objects made me feel like such an idiot. I know I must look like an idiot to my landlord because old yellow post-its label all my cabinets and dishwasher as either dairy or meat.
I rarely eat meat, so I didn’t even have a meat section until I moved into the eruv in September. Now, I’m mostly watching my stupid mistakes so that I can make a full list of what I still need to complete this change-over. I think I’ve got another week or two until I feel comfortable going to stock up on all the stuff I didn’t think about before!
Of course, buying anything makes me antsy because I’m getting rid of nearly everything I own in April for the cross-country move. Necessary evils!