The latest craze amongst the second grade girls has been ear piercing. It seems as if all year, they have succumb one by one to the trend. A has sat by and watched as some of her friends have gotten theirs done. She’s debated whether or not she was willing to conquer her fear of needles and the pain involved versus the very cool results.
It seemed like with her birthday coming up and First Communion coming in a few months, this would be as good of a time as any to get them done. So, last week we went with her two best girlfriends and their moms to get her ears pierced.
They were all so very nervous. When it was time for one of them to sit in the chair and begin, suddenly no one wanted to go. Before this turned drama, as things tend to with eight year old girls, I held A’s hand and said, “Why don’t you go first?” Before she knew it, she was up in that tall stood and the woman was marking purple dots on her lobes.
I stood in front of her and held her hands. She started to cry, just a little. I whispered to her how brave I thought she was and that it would only hurt for a second. She didn’t waiver in her decision though. She was just trying to work through the anxiety and pain. In a mere second it was done.
She instantly looked older to me.
A little girl.
I realized that there are so few traces left of the baby that I knew.
What a rite of passage. For however silly it may seem, we all remember whom we were with and when we got our ears pierced. So, while I do miss the baby that I mentioned, I sure am excited about the little girl that I get to share these moments with. She is so brave and confident. She knows what she wants and who she is. And she was willing to try something first, to be the leader. I couldn’t be more proud of her or think that she is any more beautiful. Earrings or not.
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