Upsherin

Every day's a school day, especially when you actually go to school, like Pete, although I'm the main beneficiary of his Americo-Jewish education.  Never more so than today, when we attended our first upsherin (אפשערן).  This is a combined birthday party and haircut - a superb idea, although you have to wait until your little boy is three before you cut his flowing locks.  Grandma would have been pleased by that, me not so much.

Now, I'm not one to claim that having long hair makes you look like a girl, but Pete's friend Aviv had certainly surpassed anything I managed during my Californian phase.  Nor did he seem in a particular rush to lose it all, but a lollipop and a willing grandpa made the whole thing go a lot quicker than our last visit to the barber.

As with any self-respecting party there was cake, jelly beans, cookies, crisps...everything you want to feed a crowd of three-year-olds.  Before sitting them on a train!  Yes, this all took place in our local Wheaton Park, where for the first time we got "priority boarding" by dint of being upsherin guests.  So once again, while we escape a lot of those pesky Old Testament laws, Christianity could have stolen a few more cool things from our mother religion before we parted company...

Classmates Pete and Aviv.

Come for the haircut, stay for the train ride...which is what these boys are anticipating.

That looks like a healthy snack!  Because I managed to take the picture before the cinnamon bun, moon cookie, and huge slice of cake.

Preparation is 90%.

Everyone gathers, except those young ones too distracted by party food.

In position and...

Snip!  The deed is done by grandpa!

I'd have taken a little more off myself, but whatever.

Selfie on the train.  Pete now knows the word "selfie", which no 3-yr-old should.  I blame school friends.

Tally ho on the carousel!  Now that's a fine haircut, although marital disagreement on this point continues...