And more Bat Mitzvah Pictures ...

These first pictures are of two of my absolute favorite material things: tulips and cheesecake. Jill did some simple arrangements of tulips for the table where our guests wrote thank you letters to the troops and for the table with the guest book.

Except that the guest book wasn't a traditional guest book. It was a hardcover art sketchbook with archival-quality markers and a list of ten ideas for contributions such as: write down your favorite recipe, make a prediction about Paris, draw a picture. No one provided a recipe but several penned thoughtful notes and showed artistic talent we'd not previously seen. In time we will frame some of these masterpieces.

Paris learned massive amounts about Judaism and Hebrew during her Bat Mitzvah preparations; I am halfway to a PhD in ribbonry.

We served decadent cheesecakes to the adults. Each table had a different kind: Snickers, Key Lime, Chocolate Mousse, Classic Vanilla, Dulce du Leche, Strawberry-filled, etc. I dragged Neeracha along to taste as many as we could. She was a good sport. Note the ribbons on the cake stands.

Denae Harlow shot this picture of Paris before the guests arrived. It's her favorite picture of herself from the party.

The final picture here is of a very old and dear friend, Bryan Denman, and his youngest daughter. Bryan's daughter is enamored with Paris in the sweetest of ways. Bryan and Dave became fast friends in kindergarten. Bryan and I became met in third grade, when my family moved to Orinda. My favorite holiday of the year used to be Bryan's birthday, which is in the summer. His mom would throw a big family dinner on the patio at the family compound. Such happy times!

The other thing about Bryan is that he's great with kids. My plan was to have Bryan be our manny. I write this only partially in jest. And then Bryan met Sara, they married, and now they have two daughters of their own.


If I were to be honest, though, which I try very hard to do while blogging, I'd have to admit that there is something unsettling about your child reaching a milestone like this. I much prefer to think of my daughter as she looks when she get out of bed: innocent, no makeup lining her big eyes, a little confused and disheveled. While I'm proud of her, it's bittersweet because those reaches back into childhood are fewer and fewer.

We went to a Bar Mitzvah this weekend. The thoughtful young man in coat and tie on the bimah was a very different young man than I'd seen previously, both physically and spiritually. At school they seem so old; in the synagogue amongst their Jewish community and extended family they seem so young, truly on the cusp of adulthood. I enjoy people watching at B'nai Mitzvot. Tween and teen watching, really. The young men don't want to be dressed up and the young women are thrilled for the opportunity. If there's an evening event, this is the first chance many of them have to buy party dresses, wear high, high heels and go big with the hair and makeup. It's a blast to watch the dynamics.