The Bris

Ian became a Jew on Tuesday. Way to go Ian. It's interesting that the Bris is an important public celebration. I mean, I get it in some respects. Everyone gets to come see the new 8 day old baby. Everyone can congratulate the parents and dote on the baby and in modern times, bring various stuffed animals and other brightly colored play toys. Believe me, the parents love that part of it. Those first 8 days without some of the essential baby stuff feels like forever.

But when you get down to it, this whole thing is about a minor surgical procedure. Removal of the foreskin no less. Really, a public celebration?

We took the non-traditional approach to the ceremony. We had Ian, his two grandfathers, and me up in his nursery for the snipping half of what is known as the snip and snack in Betsy's family. Betsy's dad took the important role of holding Ian still during the process. This has a technical Hebrew term, but I don't remember what it is and I am sure spell check wouldn't help me much even if I could remember the term. My dad and I sort of hid behind a piece of paper so we wouldn't have to watch too much. Now, I have watched the snip before, but somehow it is very different when it is your own son. I did not need to nor want to watch.

After the private ceremony, we came downstairs and explained the ceremony to our largely non-Jewish crowd. It was a nice little ceremony. Both of our immediate families had reading parts. Typically letting a Goldberg know in advance that they have a public speaking role is a bad idea, so it was a little surprise. That turned into several minutes of laughter and incomprehensible prayer. You can't win em all.

Here is a picture of the happy family at the Bris. Notice Ian is doing pretty well considering what he just want through. See you at the Bar Mitzvah.



Other than the Bris, life is relatively mellow. Ian eats, sleeps, poops, pees, and cries. That's about all there is to it. We would prefer that he learn how to sleep at night, but he does most of his sleeping during the day. Great.

Today Ian was introduced to a play mat. This was his first significant outside stimulation. He seemed to get it, although he is probably way too young. But he did kick some animals with his feet and stare into the mirror looking at another blurry little baby. He now thinks we are two timing him.

Sorry for the delay in updating, I will try to be a little more active on the blog from here on out.

One last picture to reward you for reading this much.