I had mixed emotions as we approached the date of the upsherin. Honestly, I wasn’t even sure if I would be capable of cutting his soft curly hair. However, that morning, when Yehuda started getting cold feet about the whole event and recommended that his younger brother take his place as the guest of honor, we did a quick snip in front of a mirror to show him that cutting your hair was no big deal, and indeed it wasn’t; not for him or me.
Early in the day I made sure all the kids took a nap to eliminate any melt-downs. While they were sleeping, I got to work, washing all the fruit and blowing up the balloons. I charged the video and digital camera, and after everyone woke up and got dressed in their outfits, we took a bunch of family pictures. Even without the added expense of hiring a professional photographer, we were still able to get some great before-and-after shots on our own cameras. We packed up the car with my sister-in-law’s help, and got to the shul just a few minutes before our guests. Everyone rushed to set up, including the unsuspecting prompt guests, and in less then 15 minutes, we were ready for our party.
We did not feel the need to hire a musician or an entertainer. In regards to music, I felt that it would get too loud to be able to talk to each other comfortably once the room filled up. In regards to entertainment, the three different craft projects that we provided and the balloons did a sufficient job to amuse the children.
All in all, it was a wonderful day, which was capped off by coming home to a clean house after an emotionally exhausting day.
May we all enjoy many stress-free smachot!