out of the spotlight!
So...
*Deep breath*
... we're done for now. My fabulous niece is heading back to NYC and everyone else is settled back in their homes and tomorrow we bake for someone else's B'nei Mitzvah and our time in the bright spotlight is over. Which is relief, really. None of us are spotlight kind of folks. We enjoyed our time there but are happy to be back in the wings, working the scenery for other headliners.
At some point I'll write more about the Bar Mitzvah and the social whirl surrounding it. The Boy was wonderful. He was steady on all the prayers, did a fab job on his first and second Aliyot, lost his place (don't move the yad when you go to say your prayer!) before his own Aliyah (and was too nervous to ask Efrat or either Rabbi to help him find his place) but did all seven verses FROM MEMORY with only a little prompting from Efrat. Then he NAILED his Haftorah (which was honestly a little shaky until late last week) and delivered a thought-provoking D'var Torah that was very, very HIM. GO BOY! err MAN!
The luncheon was lovely - there was a linen kerfuffle but because I have the BEST FRIENDS IN THE WORLD I didn't know anything about it until Monday. The party Saturday night was honestly a blast! The Boy - not always a party kinda guy - was a hoot and moved graciously between his thirty or so teenage guests and the adults. He never stopped smiling.
I expected it all to pass as a blur and to be stressed or overwhelmed or both the whole weekend but I was able to be in the moment pretty much the whole time and had a wonderful day! We are incredibly blessed to have such amazing family and friends and to be part of a community where we feel welcome and loved. I am particularly blown away by the support I had from my own mom: clearly this is not the future my 86 year old devout Catholic mother would have chosen for her grandson but she was up there on the bimah grinning with pride in him.
ETA I almost got through the parent blessing without actual tears (the voice breaking doesn't count, right) but Dave lost it a little so we sort of had to tag team through the last bit. We were accused, many times that afternoon, of making other people cry.
We were also really smart to pick the week before spring break as it took a couple of days for our brains to get back to firing correctly.
*Deep breath*
... we're done for now. My fabulous niece is heading back to NYC and everyone else is settled back in their homes and tomorrow we bake for someone else's B'nei Mitzvah and our time in the bright spotlight is over. Which is relief, really. None of us are spotlight kind of folks. We enjoyed our time there but are happy to be back in the wings, working the scenery for other headliners.
At some point I'll write more about the Bar Mitzvah and the social whirl surrounding it. The Boy was wonderful. He was steady on all the prayers, did a fab job on his first and second Aliyot, lost his place (don't move the yad when you go to say your prayer!) before his own Aliyah (and was too nervous to ask Efrat or either Rabbi to help him find his place) but did all seven verses FROM MEMORY with only a little prompting from Efrat. Then he NAILED his Haftorah (which was honestly a little shaky until late last week) and delivered a thought-provoking D'var Torah that was very, very HIM. GO BOY! err MAN!
The luncheon was lovely - there was a linen kerfuffle but because I have the BEST FRIENDS IN THE WORLD I didn't know anything about it until Monday. The party Saturday night was honestly a blast! The Boy - not always a party kinda guy - was a hoot and moved graciously between his thirty or so teenage guests and the adults. He never stopped smiling.
I expected it all to pass as a blur and to be stressed or overwhelmed or both the whole weekend but I was able to be in the moment pretty much the whole time and had a wonderful day! We are incredibly blessed to have such amazing family and friends and to be part of a community where we feel welcome and loved. I am particularly blown away by the support I had from my own mom: clearly this is not the future my 86 year old devout Catholic mother would have chosen for her grandson but she was up there on the bimah grinning with pride in him.
ETA I almost got through the parent blessing without actual tears (the voice breaking doesn't count, right) but Dave lost it a little so we sort of had to tag team through the last bit. We were accused, many times that afternoon, of making other people cry.
We were also really smart to pick the week before spring break as it took a couple of days for our brains to get back to firing correctly.