His mom’s words…..
Dear Jonah Jacob
I am so proud of you and happy for you that today, you have become a Bar Mitzvah—an adult in the eyes of your congregation. When I knew you were coming into this world, I dreamed of raising you in a Jewish Community.
Your middle name, Jacob, honors your maternal ancestors, the Jacobs family. Your Grandpa Jacobs could not be here today, but he is watching online, and you have made him so proud.
I know the road to today was a challenging one. As you have said, you started learning Hebrew virtually from scratch. As we sat at the kitchen table and worked on your studies, I was amazed at how quickly you picked up the Hebrew. Your progress was swift, even if your attitude was sometimes less than sweet. I never doubted that you would shine today, and I loved seeing your confidence grow.
Studying with you for your Bar Mitzvah has reminded me of when you were learning to swim. You were barely 18 months old, and we had been invited to swim with several other moms and their kids. You did not know how to swim yet, but you thought differently. You loved the water like a fish; you could even say like a Trout.
The other kids were calmly splashing about in floaties or their parent’s arms. However, that was not your style. You raced around the pool and catapulted into the water. The other parents were concerned, if not a bit horrified. I manically trod water in the middle of the pool, akin to a water polo player, ready to quickly scoop you up and place you back outside the pool. You did this repeatedly, and you were having the best time.
You have always been the type of person to be all in. You love your family. You love your pets. You are a loyal friend, still maintaining friendships from preschool, as seen by some of your ark openers today. You have been an accomplished fisherman from a young age. You love transformers and legos, and yes, your Xbox. Whether it is spending all year looking forward to TFCON, that’s the transformers convention, eating the fish you catch, staying up late to make lego creations, or begging for more xbox time-you love to have fun.
Simply put, you are not someone who will merely float on the surface. You are all in, and you are not afraid of the deep end. I hope you will always seek exciting and deep experiences in life.
I want you to look around today at all the people who have come to celebrate you and know we are your biggest fans. We love watching you grow up to be the wonderful person you are. And we will all be here to support you, cheer you on, and catch you in the deep end of life if you need it.
Mazel tov my dear Jonah Jacob, I am so proud of you and I love you so.
This Story was captured by A Story in Time Photography: Jessie Cadenas. If you are interested in your Family, Graduation, Engagement or Wedding Story being captured, don’t hesitate to contact us using the contact button at the top of this post or HERE.
See and get to know Jessie, the photographer on her personal FACEBOOK PAGE (yeah it’s open. You can stalk, but we can always be friends,) but if that’s too weird this is the Business Page!
Follow us on INSTAGRAM
To see all the pictures from this session, visit the Gallery.
