I didn’t think it would hit me the way it did.
My oldest son Adam came off the plane from camp last summer and announced in the car ride home, “Just so you know, I won’t be around much this year. I plan to enjoy my senior year.” True to his word, he was rarely home all last year. He was either at track and cross-country practice and meets, working and volunteering, or out with his friends.
He graduated in June and was gone most of the summer working as a counselor at his sleepaway camp. He was home for six days in August, then we packed up the car to take him to college. I was used to him not being around, so I didn’t think it would be a big deal to drop him off. We made up his bed, took a quick tour of the dorm, and then it was time to say goodbye. I gave him a big hug – and then I burst into tears.
“Where did that come from?” I remember thinking later. I’m not sure what made me sob, but maybe part of what makes something a big milestone moment (as is dropping off your firstborn at college) is all the emotions that come with it, whether you’re ready for them or not.
While Adam was living his best senior year life last year, the DMB Pictures team was working on several large productions for family foundations. A major (tear-free) milestone for us is that we finished The Anne and Henry Zarrow Foundation’s legacy project this summer – one of our biggest projects yet!
Thanks to social media sites like TikTok and Snapchat, today’s teens prefer short clips and videos. Noticing this trend toward brevity, The Anne and Henry Zarrow Foundation wanted to make sure the stories we shared about their important work would be easily consumed by future generations. So, they asked us to create 10 short videos on different topics around 5 minutes each to make sure we kept their attention. We also created a 4-minute public-facing video, so future grantees would have a better idea of what they were applying to and if it was a good fit.
What struck me most in learning about the Zarrow family was how incredibly generous Anne & Henry were. They both came from poverty and all they ever wanted to do was help others and give back to the community they loved. “Mr. Henry” – as he was affectionately called – never drove a fancy car or had fancy things. There’s one story where Anne literally gives a woman walking down the street her warm coat. When we filmed in Tulsa last fall, wherever we went, if we said the Zarrow name and what we were doing – doors just opened for us – they were so beloved for their generosity. It was truly humbling, and we’re excited to have captured those stories and more in a way that the next generation will appreciate.
I wrote more about the process of working with AHZF and consultant Josh Mintz (no relation) on the National Center for Family Philanthropy’s recent blogpost – https://www.ncfp.org/2022/09/01/seeing-is-believing-engaging-the-next-generation-through-video-and-experiential-learning/
Wishing you all good things on your own big and small milestones.
