My oldest daughter is 12 and a half and five months away from her Bat Mtizvah. The whole experience has been strange and interesting... just the thought of being old enough to have a daughter preparing for this rite of passage makes me feel a bit, squirmy. I had one myself. It was a bit of an obligation. I tried to give my daughter a choice, but honestly, I'm not sure whether she thinks she had one. I hope she feels that way. I will have to ask her.
The preparations are really scant so far. We've reserved the space for the service -- it is at the community center where we go every Sunday for a family service. It's a beautiful room and meaningful to us. We've reserved the place for the public celebration of her achievement -- it's at a hotel. Not my first choice. I prefer a more intimate location with more interesting architecture, but to my lovely tween, it seems grown-up and glamorous. For me, it is more convenient -- I have just one person to talk to there for food, drinks, tables, chairs, silver, china, glassware, etc. We still have much to do and I've decided to start this blog I've been thinking of for... a few years?!... to document our experience and thoughts about it. I'm hoping I continue it after the big event, as I've been meaning to do this for a while. I'm doing it in part to keep track of our ideas and thoughts... and in part as a remembrance for my daughter. Maybe it'll help a few others out there, as well.
How do we want to recognize and celebrate this rite of passage? Writing it down should help in finding direction and making decisions. I hope. I am trying to keep it focused more on the the joy and our love for her and less on the party and all of its accouterments. Funny, I myself have not been to a b'nai mitzvah in many years, though we have a few coming up. I've heard that they've gone a bit haywire -- in terms of themes and cost. I don't want to go there. Don't want to get caught up in the gimmicks, as tempting as they will be to the tween crowd. Onward.
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