Fastforward to last month. Timid Daughter had been gleefully wearing the clip-on earrings she received for Christmas every time she could:not to the playground where they could get lost, not to school, not to church... And so she'd stare at her sister's ears and wistfully say, "I wish I could get my ears pierced". But she knew the rule: not until she was nine like her sister.
Unbeknownst to her, these mournful conversations were tugging at her father's heartstrings.
"We could get hers done now," he'd say to me. "It's a good time of year. No soccer to worry about."
And I'd shake my head and think, 'too young. Too young'. But before long, between his rational explanations and her reveries about life when she had pierced ears, I'd had my arm twisted. And so we trooped off to the mall again as a family. Timid Daughter got pierced ears...and so did the Uber-Princess.
"It's easier to just do them both at once. If you're taking care of one's ears, you can do the other just as well," Musing Dad had reasoned.
The Uber-Princess was excited to get hers done too. She picked out a demure pair of cubic zirconia studs. She climbed bravely up into the chair and sat perfectly still. She grimaced only slightly at the pain, then stared proudly in the mirror at her glittering ears.
All was well until the next day. Suddenly the sight of my baby with pierced ears wrenched at my heart. 'Too young! Too young!' I thought to myself. How can it be that this is my little baby? She looks so much older...and yet not.
It went that way for me for a few days as I mourned this simple rite of passage come too soon in our household. It is done. The girls are so happy. But if any mom out there has their young daughters asking for pierced ears, I caution you to think about it. There's always tomorrow or next year (or the year after even). Don't let them grow up too fast, even if it's just a simple hole in the ear.
2 musings:
When I was growing up, getting our ears pierced was also a right of passage. Now days, people seem to have babies ears pierced on a regular basis. I applaude you for waiting until your girls were older. Even though, I have 2 girls and the older one does always say that the younger one gets to do things before she (being the older) got to do. I guess that's how the old ball bounces. I enjoy reading your blog. Keep up the good work! :)
Renee - thanks for stopping by! There is that whole thing about the younger ones doing stuff at earlier ages, huh? It always bugged me because I was the eldest and I watched it happen with my two younger sisters. I swore I wouldn't be that way... then I had kids!
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