Dalya's Bat Mitzvah at the Key Club

Dalya could not have asked for a more perfect June day for her bat mitzvah celebration.

Besides the perfect temperature, low humidity, fluffy clouds in the blue sky kind of day the morning was clearing up to be, when I arrived at Neveh Shalom… did I smell cookies?! I had been told that baking has been part of the celebrations here for some time, with family recipes that have been made (and looked forward to) for generations. So I followed the delicious, warm scent downstairs…well, don’t those look yummy? Dalya’s parents had big, proud smiles during rehearsal–beaming, I thought. Other family members who were preparing for festivities later that day would come into the sanctuary occasionally to cheer her on.

Sweet!

The party was at Jeld-Wen Field the next day. When I arrived the tables were being set with maps of NYC and little yellow taxis, and a playbill titled Dalya’s Theater. Everywhere the party decor said “I♥NYC.” There was even a human sized Statue of Liberty!

Dalya’s a Timbers fan and Jeld-Wen is also special to her Dad. So it was a brilliant idea on her part to take the family photos on the field. We had the entire stadium as the perfect background!

Keep reaching for your goals Dalya. With family like yours on your team, you can’t lose.