Sonia and The Simpsons

Elysha and I had tickets to see Supreme Court Justine Sonia Sotomayor speak last night at the Connecticut Forum.

I had actually surprised Elysha with the tickets last month.

When we mentioned this to the kids, Clara immediately lamented the fact that she wasn’t going. Not only is Justice Sotomayor one of her heroes, but she had just spent the day learning about landmark Supreme Court cases in history class.

“I’m so jealous of you two,” Clara said. “You’re so lucky.”

It’s pretty fantastic for your 13-year-old daughter to be jealous of parents who are going to listen to a Supreme Court Justice speak for an hour or two. This, combined with the fact that she had just spent dinner discussing some of the cases she had studied earlier that day, led me to offer my ticket to Clara, who was over the moon excited about going.

I would’ve very much liked to have seen Justice Sotomayor speak, but it probably wasn’t going to change my life in any significant way.

But Clara?

These are the kind of moments that can have a real impact on a young person. I decided it was more important for her to attend the event than for me.

But don’t feel too bad for me, because while Elysha and Clara were gone, Charlie and I muddled through. Charlie made a tin foil ball,  and for a solid 45 minutes, we tossed that ball around the house and watched our cat, Tobi, perform hilarious acts of acrobatics and tomfoolery.

Then we recorded a video for my new business, cracking each other up the whole time. When it was finished, we ate some chocolate and plopped onto the couch to watch a couple of episodes of The Simpsons while occasionally punching, tickling, and slapping each other.

I’m not sure if the evening was nearly as transformational for Charlie as it was for Clara, but quite honestly, it was unforgettable for me. One of those nights that makes you feel so blessed to have a son as ridiculous as yourself.

Sometimes sacrificing for others isn’t so much of a sacrifice after all.