Happiness

My daughter Hannah had her bat mitzvah this Sunday. It was one of the most important days of her life. For a Jewish girl it ranks somewhere close to getting married or having a firstborn.  

You really don’t know what true emotions are until you become a parent. As I am writing this at 5 am, I have headphones on and I’m listening to Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata. It’s dark outside, and my wife and three kids are safely asleep.  

This is what happiness feels like.  

I know that in two hours they’ll wake up. We’ll have breakfast and I’ll drive them to school. Jonah (my sixteen-year-old) will be bargaining with me about what music we’ll listen to – classical will not be his first choice. Hannah will be on Jonah’s side. Mia Sarah (my almost-4-year-old) will offer her preference, which is always the same: “Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round.” We’ll compromise. Jonah has a learner’s permit, and he’ll be driving us through a beautiful park. I’ll hug and kiss them, drop Jonah off at high school, Hannah at middle school, and Mia Sarah at preschool.  

I am overwhelmed with emotions just writing this. This is all finite. One day they’ll all be grown up. The house will be empty and days like today will be distant happy memories. I never want days like this to end. I really don’t want my kids to grow up, and bat mitzvah is another reminder that they are! Someday I will no longer be hugging and kissing them in the morning and driving them to school.  

Yes, and as you can imagine, the stock market, QE, Bitcoin, and whatever else I usually write about somehow seem so trivial and unimportant right now.  

In my speech at Hannah’s bat mitzvah (read it here) I wanted to express my love for her and tell her something meaningful about becoming bat mitzvah. Expressing my love for her was easy; the latter part was difficult, as you'll see.  

I am the Spielberg wannabe in my family. I am the one making family movies for big occasions (birthdays and anniversaries, etc.). A dozen years ago I somehow stumbled into this role, probably because no one else wanted it. Mr. Spielberg should not be worried about being dethroned by me anytime soon, but I really enjoy putting these fancy slideshows together – they send me down memory lane as I pick photos and videos – and I get to pick music!  

Making a movie for Hannah’s bat mitzvah was a highly emotional experience as well, as I got to relive her first twelve years through pictures and home movies. 

You can read full speech here.