Pierced Ears

The big day arrived on Saturday July 28th. Sweetpea had announced to me 2 days before that she was READY. Ready to get her ears pierced. I always told her that when she was a big girl and ready to get her ears pierced I would take her. Getting my ears pierced is one of my favorite childhood memories. I was 8 years old and my aunt took me to the mall - the Piercing Pagoda - and I got them done. It hurt -a lot and I never lied to Sweetpea about that so she was prepared. I'm not a big fan of getting ears pierced when one is a baby. Sure the pain is the same no matter when you get it done but there is something about making the choice to do it. I see it as a rite of passage for a child and I didn't want her to miss out on it. So Saturday came and the first thing she says when she wakes up is "Don't forget mom, we're going to get my ears pierced today". So off we go. I took her to an actual body piercing place versus the mall since I figured they are a bit more experienced in this then the 16 year old girl working 10 hours a week at Claire's. When we got there Kris - the piercer - was a bit apprehensive about doing her since she is only 5 so she took her back and showed her all of the stuff, the needle, the clamp, the chair, etc. Sweetpea looked right at her and said "Let's do this" and climbs right up in the chair. So here we go. The one thing about a real piercer versus the mall is the needle. At the mall they use the gun that shoots the earring in your ear while here they use a hollow core needle to cut a hole in your ear. Kris put the clamp on her ear, put the piece of cork behind the ear, told her to close her eyes and blow out on the count of three. Sweetpea did it and the needle sliced through her ear like a hot knife through butter. Wow was that sharp. I'm not a squeamish person but when it is your child it is harder to watch. The reaction...she cried, just a bit and said it hurt. She was so good though. At that moment Dad showed up, he was driving by and saw us there, so she was happy about that. Now came the hardest part, the second one. Sweetpea tried her hardest to stay still but now she knew just how much it would hurt. This time I had to steady her head since she was shaking but she still did exactly as told. It only took a second and the other one was done too. Now she was so happy. The tears were still going down her cheeks but there was a smile as well. I was, and still am, so proud of her. She spent the next three days saying how glad she was that she got earrings and we of course had to drive around and show everyone we know. So there marks one milestone in her life. A few years earlier then expected and harder on me then her.