It’s vacation time at Maryland Family, but our guest blogger today is Jennifer Dansicker — the editor of Harford Magazine and mother of Henry, 6, Audrey, 5, and Stanley, 4.

It’s funny how your childhood longings seem to follow you around in some way, shape or form. For me the desire to have a bat mitzvah was always something that I wanted to do but never thought I was worthy of the honor. I was raised in a household where men got bar mitzvahed and girls made dinner and washed the dishes. It wasn’t as bad as it sounds; it was actually comforting having my designated role in the family. With two brothers and two sisters, there were always strange double standards and odd divisions of labor among the sexes in our house. Still, we were a happy family for the most part.

When I turned thirteen, I began watching my peers getting bat and bar mitzvahed every Saturday afternoon. In the evenings we danced to 80s music at the after celebration soirées. As a tween, I was just happy to enjoy the fruits of my friends’ hard labor by attending the ceremonies and parties. When I was young I never questioned why, I just did what I was told. As an adult I have begun to explore my desire to know myself, my religion and my history.

Today, I am a married 39-year-old mother of three young children who attend Beth Tfiloh Dahan Community Day School – a modern Jewish orthodox school. And after the death of both my parents and one older brother in recent years, my views on how I live my life have changed dramatically. Things I thought I would never do have crept back into my consciousness. I think these circumstantial changes motivated me to find the depth of my relationship with God.

So last year, after a crash course in Hebrew Reading, I decided to join the Adult Bat Mitzvah program at Beth Tfiloh. By the time I finish the program I will be turning 40, so why did I choose to do it now, you might ask? The first reason would be for my children. I feel strongly that it is my role to set an example for them by living a Jewish life. My children go to school every day and learn about their faith and how to live by the rules of Judaism. One of my greatest joys is watching them grow as loving, independent, centered children who are learning to be good people and good Jews. I try to keep up with their daily learning by reinforcing the teachings with dialogue about Jewish customs and theology. We celebrate all the Jewish holidays, and we also have Shabbat dinner every Friday night. We hope to use the teachings and the traditions of Judaism to make our children and ourselves better, stronger peopleŠ.people who can endure, give back to the community and one another as we try to love in peace.

Being a part of the Adult Bat Mitzvah is my commitment to myself and my children to pursue a good and faithful life. I want my children to know, especially my daughter, that Judaism is important to me and the way I live my life. The bat or bat mitzvah is a milestone for any Jewish person, young or old. It is a right of passage and at my age it requires sacrifices of my time and energy that ultimately show my children that faith and learning is still important and has value. Through this amazing program, I have learned so much about myself and my faith.