Pierced Ears

When I was 10 years old I wanted to get my ears pierced.  Unfortunately my parents (and their signature) were against it.  I cried and cried for weeks. 

“But why not!?! my response that I must have said hundreds of times.

 “You just want to get your ears pierced because all your friends have their ears pierced.  If a million flies ate manure would you eat manure too?” -Father’s response. The Manure story was one of my father’s favorite teaching one liners which was supposed to warn us of the dangers of peer pressure.  It worked.  To this day I have never eaten manure. 

“You can get them pierced if you still want to when you are older.”
- Mother’s response. I knew she was secretly hoping that with age I would mature and make the right decision NOT to put holes in my sacred body that was a temple (and still is).

“But Mom” I wailed “I want them pierced now!” 

Twelve seemed like an eternity away.  To give my 10-year-old-self credit it was a long time away.  It was 1/5 of my entire life. 

Eventually (to my shock) my parents agreed….under a few conditions.

1. I had to list 10 GOOD reasons why I wanted them pierced.
2. I had to pay for the piercing and any earrings I wanted with my own money.
3. I had to agree to keep them clean.
4. I was never allowed to complain about how much it hurt.

I agreed to everything.  Just after my 10^th Birthday my mom agreed to take me to the mall.  We had seen a sign advertising FREE EAR PIERCING a few months before.  I had my $10 ready (for the earrings.)   I remember the pain.  That was the start of a long and beautiful friendship I’ve had with earrings.  I’ve never looked back. 

This past Saturday I had a similar experience.  I went to the mall and paid for an ear piercing.  However this time it was not for me.  It was for my very own cute mother. 

That is right!  My 54 year old mother FINALLY got her ears pierced. 

I thought about insisting she adhere to the same list of conditions I had to when I was 10.  But I decided to be more mature.  In fact I really took the high road and let bygones be bygones.  To prove that I had no hard feelings I paid for the piercing and earrings myself.  (Happy Birthday Mom!)

I drove her to the Mall. With two of my other sisters (4 out of 5 have pierced ears).  I sat her down in the chair and told her not to be afraid it didn’t hurt for long.  I helped her pick out some small and classy earrings. 

We told her to hold the Bear if she got scared. 

The adorable girl from Claire's insisted she didn’t need my authorization signature. 

The actual piercing. 

She was so brave.  She didn't even cry.

Pretty Pretty and no more painful clip-ons!

I was Elated. Seriously I almost cried.

We were all very excited.  Including my Mom.

 She had this to say about it:  “It was much less painful than giving blood.”

Now for the darker side of this ear piercing.  Everyone in the family knew of my mom's ear piercing plans except for one person. The unknown person: My little sister and best friend Jani.  Despite my constant pro-pierced ear testimonies Jani still maintains a strong anti-piercing ear stance.   We were all a little nervous to tell her what Mom had done.  Finally it was decided that I should break the news on my blog.  So here you go blogging world!  This news is fresh and full of family controversy.  My cute 54 year old Mother now has pierced ears! My little sister doesn't and swears she never will!

So what do you think?  Jani?  (don’t be mad at me please! I swear she WANTED to do it! Please call me!)

Everyone else?  How old were all of you when you got your ears pierced?  Any regrets?  Any good stories?  Discuss!