My Little Feminist
Background: Rafi was born with a full head of hair, and has had four or five full-on haircuts (not cutesy-baby-bang-trims) in his short life. Rita was born virtually bald, and only just now have we started to actually worry whether her hair is getting in her eyes.
We were engaged in the usual bedtime proceedings. Rafi had just finished nursing and scrambled off my lap, and Rita climbed up for her turn. For some reason I can't place, Julian's kipa had fallen off of his head. Rafi spotted it, picked it up, offered it back to Daddy. Julian in turn offered it back to Rafi.
Thirty seconds later, my little boy was running around delightedly, kipa (and clips!) centered on top of his head. "Do you like the kipa?" I asked him. "Soon you will wear one every day."
Rita took a quick break from nursing. "Rita wear it kipa too?"
"No, sweetie. You don't have to wear a kipa."
Rita burst into tears. I tried to console her: "You can wear one, if you want to, I guess. But you don't need to wear a kipa. Just Daddy and Rafi. Mommy doesn't wear one, see?"
She wasn't having it, and the sobbing continued...until I saw a little lightbulb go off over her head. "Rafi wear it kipa? Rafi get a haircut, wear it kipa." [pause] "Rita get a haircut, wear kipa also."
Don't look now, but she's planning her own upsherin.
5 comments:
Wait until she learns about hair-covering...
LOL! You should have just told her she can wear hats and scarves like you, instead. I know she already loves those...
Well, yes, except that a whole other kettle of fish, and one she doesn't have to dive into (and won't be expected to dive into) until she is married. I like to keep these distinctions clear.
Bayla had her first haircut - I mean, bangs trim - on her 2nd birthday. She didn't need it earlier.
Moshe is aiming to not need one - by secular standards of traditional (not modern) boy hair length - until his upsherin! I got asked last week if it had been cut b/c it has finally grown in that much.
Does Rita want pink satin? I still have some momentos from Bat Mitzvahs where the pre-printed kipot matched the decor.
I don't know, CD wore a hat all the time from the age of 2 until 5, and it was (initially at least) all because we were reminding MY to go get his yarmulke. (Or kipa, if you insist, but that's not what we said.)
The rest of my girls (and CD now) certainly like hats, but they're mostly for dress-up, or to go with a specific outfit, that sort of thing.
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