The Passage of Shave

My shaving days began when I was 4. I always used to see my father and my two brother stand in front of the mirror and shave, and I always wanted to do the same. So one morning, after my brother Kash finished his shave, I politely asked that if I could do the same. He picked me up, put me on the bathroom counter next to the sink, squeezed a bit of shaving cream into his hands and lathered my four year old face up with shaving cream. I thought it was the coolest feeling, I felt just like a big kid. Then, hoping my brother would take his razor and shave my face, took the end of the popsicle stick which I had just finished eating and began to "shave" my face. After he had finished, I ran down the stairs with enthusiasm as I showed my parents my "new smooth face." As I turned to my father, I saw his face turn red in anger as he proceded to scold my brother telling him that "He's too young; your teaching him to shave, that's wrong, he might do it on his own; the shaving cream will burn his skin." My brother turned to me and said "okay, kiddo, no more for you." From that day, I waited till I could shave.

For the past 6 years of my life I've been shaving with an electric razor, you know the kind w/ 3 blades that cost 20 bucks and each replacement blade was 15, but you only had to replace it once in a while. Part of the reason I used the electric razor was because for some reason my father refused to let me shave with a proper razor. He claimed that my skin was "too young" and "too soft" and that a razor would merely cut my skin up. After that, I never once again asked my father if I could shave with a razor, fearing that all I would get would be a scolding or a lecture. I still waited on the day I could shave properly.

Today, I looked at myself in the mirror and noticed how scruffy my face was looking. I walked downstairs and told my dad "Morning dad, your gonna teach me how to shave." My father followed me up the stairs, and gave me a step by step process, from lathering, to the strokes to take, everything. I gladly let him explain to me everything, even though I already pretty much knew how to do it. I always percieved shaving as a father/son bonding experience and a passage of adulthood, which is why I wouldn't have let anyone else show me. He was so excited and happy that he got to teach me, he even offered to shave for me (which I refused in fearing that my father would accidentally cut me). His enthusiasm and pride in teaching me was all I wanted out of my first shave, it really showed me how much he cares. At the end of the shave, he was my typical dad and proceded to make some stupid joke about shaving pubes, silly, but I wouldn't have it any other way.