Pierced Ears for Greta
When Greta turned five in October, I told her she could get her ears pierced whenever she wanted--at five, ear piercing was open to her. Lucia couldn't wait to get hers done--she'd asked to have it done for about a year before turning five, and I took her to have it done a week or so after her fifth birthday. Greta, on the other hand, was adamantly against it. She had no desire whatsoever. There was a reasonable explanation: we had problems with one of Lucia's ears; it got infected, it was terribly painful, and the hole ultimately closed and had to be re-pierced. None of that was any fun to watch.
But now Lucia's ears are fine, and she gets to wear fun earrings, including dangly earrings; and one of Greta's pre-K friends got hers pierced. So, out of the blue last week, Greta announced she wanted to get her ears pierced. She didn't go back on it once. I asked her about a hundred times since her announcement, giving her many easy outs, telling her she could do it anytime and it could be now or later or never: her choice. But she held firm. Since Mom and Dad were here this weekend, it seemed like the right time.
Today, Mom and I took Greta to the Piercing Pagoda at the local mall, where she sat very bravely as her ears were pierced. She chose pink gem hearts for her piercing earrings--she really wanted hearts, and was happy to see hearts presented as one of her choices. She was scared--when the two women leaned over her with the piercing guns, telling her to relax, relax, relax, her little lip got wobbly and she squeezed the little lamb she'd brought (her Wee) for dear life. But she did it. She leaned into me afterwards, crying silently, and wouldn't look up for a while--but that was it. She was fine. We took her to a store to pick out two Beanie Boo backpack clips, and then to Claire's to choose some earrings for when she can finally change them.
She seems very pleased. She wants to do the earring-care steps herself--turning the earrings, cleaning the holes. You never know what you'll get with our mercurial, dramatic Greta, and we caught her at a good moment today--and now she has pierced ears. So adorable. A rite of passage.
But now Lucia's ears are fine, and she gets to wear fun earrings, including dangly earrings; and one of Greta's pre-K friends got hers pierced. So, out of the blue last week, Greta announced she wanted to get her ears pierced. She didn't go back on it once. I asked her about a hundred times since her announcement, giving her many easy outs, telling her she could do it anytime and it could be now or later or never: her choice. But she held firm. Since Mom and Dad were here this weekend, it seemed like the right time.
Today, Mom and I took Greta to the Piercing Pagoda at the local mall, where she sat very bravely as her ears were pierced. She chose pink gem hearts for her piercing earrings--she really wanted hearts, and was happy to see hearts presented as one of her choices. She was scared--when the two women leaned over her with the piercing guns, telling her to relax, relax, relax, her little lip got wobbly and she squeezed the little lamb she'd brought (her Wee) for dear life. But she did it. She leaned into me afterwards, crying silently, and wouldn't look up for a while--but that was it. She was fine. We took her to a store to pick out two Beanie Boo backpack clips, and then to Claire's to choose some earrings for when she can finally change them.
She seems very pleased. She wants to do the earring-care steps herself--turning the earrings, cleaning the holes. You never know what you'll get with our mercurial, dramatic Greta, and we caught her at a good moment today--and now she has pierced ears. So adorable. A rite of passage.
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