Celebrations

D, Ziggy and I flew up to Long Island this weekend to celebrate our nephew Alex's bar mitzvah. He and his little brother, Cal, performed beautifully in the 3-hour ceremony. 13-year-old Alex gave a speech about the Torah (Old Testament) portion detailing the post-Exodus 40 years of wandering, and the important journeys his family has similarly made. It was touching - especially when he commanded a round of applause for his potential cousin (to which he added, "Good luck with that!").

The next family religious ceremony will be Ziggy's bris, when he's 8 days old.

I also had a chance to celebrate some longtime friendships, when Mrinalini and Isabelle came to visit me from Manhattan. It was so wonderful to see them again and have them be a part of this new little adventure. People stared through the restaurant windows when I tried to show off my 19-week belly, but they weren't impressed with the size. Still need to work on it.

Mrinalini just moved into a new strategy position at Lehman's, and Isabelle is preparing for her September move to London. It's so great to see them happy and full of new plans.