When I was little, I marked the passing of time with the coming and going of Jewish and secular holidays on the calendar. Chanukkah was exciting, full of goodies to eat and little presents, and also meant that Spring was just around the corner. New Year's eve was a special treat to stay up way, way past bedtime and drink champagne with my parents at midnight. July 4th brought a huge family bar-b-que at my parent's house, but also a sad reminder that we'd be going shopping for school supplies soon.

In general, I dislike shopping for clothing and clothing related items. However, shopping for new shoes for two of the holidays was always something to look forward to. We got black or dark colored shoes for Rosh HaShanah - the start of the fall - and white or light colored shoes for Pesach - the start of the spring. Those shoes would last us until the next season of shoe shopping came around - I think my mother would always pray that our feet wouldn't grow too much until then. We also got haircuts before the holidays - rarely during the rest of the year. I generally had my hair long as a kid, and only went for a trim twice a year.

I think this was the first year Anna could really appreciate the changing of the seasons. All throughout the Fall, Anna was looking forward to the Winter and would ask daily if it was going to snow yet. Now she's thrilled to announce to all that Spring is here and is once again playing outside in the playground at school. I keep trying to get her to sing Pesach (Passover) songs but she announces that it's not Pesach yet, so she declines to sing.

This past weekend we went out shoe shopping with Anna. She got those light-up shoes that I hate, but I list under the category of "pick your battles." She also got some lovely dressy shoes for the Spring and Summer that I hope will last her through Rosh HaShanah.

Edited to add: I forgot to explain the "no haircut" part of the title - While Anna is enjoying new clothes and shoes for the season, she still has only three or four inches of hair. No haircut for Anna in sight.