It happened. My little girl went and grew up. And dubbed herself ready to get her ears "punched." No. I do not speak of boxing rings. I am referring to EARrings. Now, I'm not sure that I would have chosen to let her get her ears pierced this early. But I know my girl. She hates any and all things painful. So if she feels ready, I'm ready.
And I figure...I want to let her make all the decisions that she can at this age. Build her self-esteem. Let her try out her independence here and there. Show her that I trust her judgement.
So when she announced that she was ready for earrings, I didn't argue. I just said, "Okay. One day soon."
"One day" happened Saturday. By fluke. We happened to be at the mall to cash in our "free pretzel coupons" at Auntie Anne's. (Auntie Anne is Jet's cousin) And as we made our way to eat, we walked by it. The Ear-Piercing Counter.
Providence was lining up all the details. There were TWO earpiercing ladies there (so both ears could be done at the same time), which they said was rare. AND there happened to be another little girl getting her ears done! ...I haven't seen anyone sitting in that chair for years! It couldn't have been more perfect.
Charis stood there, fascinated. wide-eyed. intent on the girl's face as they put the earrings in. The girl winced, but nothing more. The mom was crying, but not the little girl. :)
"Mom. I want to do it too! Can I?" Charis was determined.
"Are you sure?"
"YES!"
I look at Jet. He shrugs and says "Why not?"
And so our little girl sat in the big chair. Brave and confident in her decision. Waiting while they cleaned her ears and drew the blue dots.
They told her that they'd count to three. "1. 2. 3...." CLICK. She grimaced a little and then smiled. A lot.
The crowd went wild. Literally. 12 people clapped and cheered for her as she sat on the chair, grinning from pierced ear to ear. You can tell she feels all grown up!! I was too busy clapping to get a picture.
She told Selah, as her voice went up 3 octaves, that it only hurt a "itty bitty bitty bit". ;)I can't believe the little girl who cried last year when I asked her if she wanted to ever get her ears pierced, now has her ears "punched"! She's grown up soo much in the last month. (2/3 of an inch in height AND leaps and bounds in her level of maturity)!!
If the next 5 years go as fast as the last 5 years, all of my girls will be grown up before I know it!
9 comments:
As for that last line...
You speak truth, sister!
We set an age for the ear piercing...8. My oldest got hers last year. We got 4 more ears to go!
This brought tears to my eyes. (I'm such a sap.) I am so not ready for Joseph to turn 5. It seems so old.
I want a nice close up of her beautiful pierced ears. :)
Does Selah want hers "punched" now too?
How handy of you to have your camera with you on an outing for a free pretzel. :)
Val-
Yeah...I was joking with Selah about whether she wanted her ear pierced at some point. She said no. (she's gotta be different) and I said "How about your nose then?" She said "Yeah! Punch my nose!" hee hee
I happened to have the camera in the car because we had just come from the dress rehearsal for the Christmas Play. Where I DIDNT take one picture. Go figure.
But it was oh so convenient to have for the spontaneous monumental moment for Charis!
I, too, was wondering about the camera... :)
I've got to admit, I'm insanely jealous that you've got the family connection to Auntie Anne's! I went to high school with Anne's daughter, and I thought that was a pretty cool connection to be able to tell people about...but it never earned me any free pretzels! Those pretzels are the best...definitely one of the things I missed when we lived in Israel. So...if you've got more of those free coupons than you can use...you know what to do with them, right??? ;)
Good for you for letting Charis make her own decision about when to get her ears pierced. Of course, that's easy for me to say because I don't have any daughters so this particular issue has never faced me!
Although, on a similar note, Josiah did ask at dinner tonight if boys ever got their hair dyed. And when we told him yes, he said that when he grows up, he's going to dye his hair pink and purple and yellow. I hope that's one of the things from his childhood that he never remembers again! ;)
It was in that same spot that Katie got her ears pierced when she was 5. :-) Tell Charis we're proud of her bravery & I'm sure she looks bee-yoo-ti-ful.
So neat!! Still waiting for the moment my 5 year old approaches the topic, I wanted them to have it done a long time ago, but alas my hubby decided it was best for them to make that decision on their own. HooHumm ;0) I hope I remember my camera though!!! :0)
Oh how sweet. I remember when I got my ears pierced - there were two women there for me too. I felt like a star. I too want to see the close up of the earings!
Your connecting with Auntie Anne's is awesome. Not only because their pretzles are The Best, but the organization is so cool. (they were founded to support a counseling center, right? i wish i were close enough to work there...haha)
Congrats to Charis!
I have to admit that my first thought was about the camera too. :)
What a huge milestone in the life of a little girl!! I am so impressed that you chose this instance to build her up.
But I also do not even want to think about my "babies" getting their ears pierced!
We made that same decision for our girls. We didn't get the piercing done when they were babies (as many do). I told my hubby that I wanted it to be something they could ask to do - a part of "growing up" that would be meaningful to them.
K asked about it one day, so I mentioned that she could do it anytime and then explained that they have to put a hole in your ear. I showed her mine. She promptly said, "hmmmm...maybe when I am 10."
I figure she'll do it when her little sis goes for it! It'll be when the pain outweighs the product :)
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