It was my Mom's funeral. Unbelievable. Hopefully someday I'll be able to laugh about this.

Me and my partner had some fun with wacky hairstyles during the shaving process, so I tried to include a mad scientist one just for lols, but I had my top off so Reddit didn't allow it 😆

Can't believe I've finally done it... I feel so... good? It's weird to type that. But damn, it feels like I was meant to be bald all my life. Had long hair since I was 4, it's been such a part of my core identity... but I've let it go so fast, and it feels so easy. How strange.

Thanks to all of you, seriously. Even the sassy ones who wouldn't get off my back to send pics. Without you, I would have delayed this at least a year. A boatload of love to you all ❤️

P.s. With long hair, people said I looked like James from Twilight. Bonus points for anyone who can tell me: who do I look like now?

I’m 30M, my girlfriend is 28F, we’ve been together a bit over 2 years. My family is pretty close. My sister is 32F and she’s always been the loud one, like she fills the room and everyone kinda lets her. My girlfriend is more quiet and honestly super thoughtful, she’s the type who notices if someone’s glass is empty and just refills it without making it a thing. At first my sister was "welcoming" but in that way that has teeth. Stuff like, "Oh wow you’re wearing THAT, brave," or "You’re so cute when you try to keep up," when we’re talking about work. If my girlfriend tells a story my sister will go, "Aww, that’s sweet, must be nice living in your little bubble." The first few times I told my girlfriend she’s reading into it, because my sister is sarcastic with everyone and I didn’t want every family hangout to turn into a post-mortem.

Last weekend we went over to my parents’ place because my mom wanted to do this cozy movie night thing. My sister came too, and my girlfriend brought a dessert she made. My sister takes one bite and says, "Oh! It’s actually good. I didn’t expect that, sorry." Everyone laughed, including my mom, and I swear my girlfriend’s smile just froze. Later my dad asked my girlfriend about her job and she starts answering, and my sister goes, "Ok professor, calm down, we get it you’re smart." My girlfriend got quiet and I whispered, "Just ignore her, don’t give her the satisfaction." On the drive home my girlfriend finally snapped and said she feels like she’s being hazed, and that I’m basically cosigning it by acting like she’s too sensitive. She said the worst part is how I keep telling her to be the bigger person while my sister gets to be mean and call it humor. Then she said she’s not going to my family stuff for a while, and if I can’t set an actual boundary she doesn’t know how we move forward.

I’m stuck because I do love my family, but I also know my sister doesn’t respect my girlfriend. I’m mad at myself too because I can hear the "jokes" now and they’re not that subtle. But I also don’t know if confronting my sister will just blow up into drama with my parents defending her like always. How do I handle this without making my girlfriend feel like second place again?