Today is Zachary’s 17th birthday. He has grown up even more this past year and I’m always amazed by him! Here’s a look back at his year.
June 2023
In June, we took our family trip to Oregon and Northern California. When we got home, it was time for Zachary to get ready for and go on his summer trip to Morocco and Israel.
August 2023
In August, we celebrated Simon’s bar mitzvah and Zachary became more sure of himself when it came to leading services at synagogue too. With Simon’s influence, Zachary began attending synagogue services more often. He has solidified his commitment to Judaism this year. He also started his junior year in August.
September 2023
In September, Zachary got his license. Yes, he turned 16 in June, but we wanted him to wait until after his summer trip and until we were sure about his driving abilities. Since then, he has been driving to school, etc.
In October, our lives were greatly effected by the attack in Israel. We were able to spend a weekend in NJ with family and Zachary also attended his first youth group weekend of the year.
November 2023
In November, Zachary traveled to Washington D.C. for the rally in support of Israel. He is strongly connected to the country and really wanted to attend the rally!
We also traveled to NJ again for Thanksgiving.
December 2023
In December, Zachary went to NY for his summer trip reunion, and then he met us in Florida for our winter break trip. He still loves to travel and is still very interested in airplanes and airports.
February 2024
In January and February we celebrated the Chiefs Superbowl win. I wouldn’t say Zachary is a huge sports fan, but if it involves food, friends, or being a part of something big, he’s in! He also attended a youth group weekend in NY in February and one in Chicago in March.
March 2024
Zachary’s school trip to Israel that was supposed to be in March was canceled. In March, Zachary started working at the after school program at the J. I was proud of him for taking the initiative and applying for this job.
May 2024
Zachary finished out his junior year and headed off to another youth group weekend! I love that he loves them so much. And then after that we left for Israel! We will be celebrating his 17th birthday with a belated celebration for Zachary – when he turned 13, we had planned to celebrate his bar mitzvah in Israel, but it was 2020, so that didn’t happen. So, we hope this belated celebration goes as planned!
Happy Birthday Zachary!
