Earrings

She told me several months back that she wanted her ears pierced.  I told her what to expect.  She decided to wait a little while. I know her enough to not push her to do something she is not ready to do.  And then this last Friday night, she told me she wanted her ears pierced again.  I told her to think about it overnight.  She couldn't sleep all night and kept waking up to say she wanted her ears pierced in the morning. 

When this first came up a few months ago, I had done lots of research.  I checked out all the places that I could take her to get it done.  My first choice - our pediatrician's office - didn't do it.  Regardless of where I took her, I knew I wanted both ears done at the same time.  And what do they say about the best laid plans?

So on Saturday morning she woke up and said she was ready.  She couldn't think of anything else.  And she wanted to do it before we spent the day swimming at my sister's pool.  So off to a local, highly recommended chain store to get her ears pierced. There was only one lady working, and another one didn't come in for a few hours.  My spirited girl just couldn't wait. I explained to her what this meant.  I explained that it meant she would feel one big pinch, and then another one shortly after that instead of two pinches at the same exact time.  She said it was okay and she didn't want to wait until later in the day.  And again, I know when she makes up her mind, there is no changing it.  So I held one of her hands and my sister held her other hand, and her little sister watched and kept saying "ears, ears". 

They had so many more earring choices for ear piercings than I remember. My only restriction in her choice was that she picked her starter earrings from the grouping that had 14k gold posts versus other metals. I was hoping she would go with the traditional studs with her birthstone (like I had done many years ago), but she chose some very cute pink flowers.  They were perfect for her, and she picked them on her own.

I was so proud of her!  She did awesome. As she tells it, she only had one tear fall from her eye.  I could see the pain in her face, but she remained strong.  She was so very excited, and shows everyone that she meets and says "I just go my ears pierced!"

I was seven when I first got my ears pierced.  I would have liked her to wait a little longer, but realized a few years wouldn't really make that big of a difference.  She was ready.  She's been helping with the cleaning and does the turning several times a day. She's so "grown up" and it makes me feel that happy-sad feeling that I've felt several times over the last five years.  I love being her mom, but I am reminded all too often how fast this is happening.