Ears pierced!

Ellie has been asking me to get her ears pierced for about a year, after her friend got hers pierced and another friend almost did. At first I told her she's too young and needs to wait a few years, but recently I started playing up the pain angle so she'll scare herself out of it.

So, yesterday we were sitting on the floor going through some stuff and Ellie saw my earring. She said, "Mommy, please can I get my ears pierced? Please?? Please????"

I said, "If you really want to, you can."
She said, "Today?"
I said, "Yes, today. Right now. Let's get your coat."
She got a little worried look on her face. She said, "Will it hurt?"
I said, "Yes. And not just for a second. It will probably hurt all day."

I expected that that would be enough to make her back out, but it wasn't. So I took her over to the computer and showed her a video about how you have to put antiseptic on it three times a day for six weeks and how it can get infected and how an earring can get embedded in the earlobe.

She still wanted to do it. So, I said, "It's okay with me, but you have to ask Daddy and make sure it's okay with him." She said, "Why?" And I said, "Because he's your daddy."

She ran upstairs and a few minutes later she came back down and said, "Daddy said it's fine with him." I couldn't believe he said yes, but with that last barrier broken, I grabbed my coat and keys.

Ellie asked a few times on the way if it hurt a lot and I said, "When I got my ears pierced, it hurt a lot. All day. When you get a shot at the doctor, they put the needle in and then take it out, so it only hurts for a second. This hurts more because they put the earring through your ear and then it stays in there. So it hurts a lot. You can back out anytime you want, you know. It's your decision."

She said, "I know," in a small voice. Then she said, "I don't want to talk about getting my ears pierced until we get there."

When we got to Claire's, there was a girl there getting her ears pierced right before Ellie. She was about 8 or 9 years old. She was very, very nervous and squirming around and holding her mom's hand. I thought this was a great opportunity to have Ellie watch, and I thought she might pick up on this girl's anxiety and back out.

She didn't. But she did get more nervous. As I filled out the form and signed my name saying I wouldn't sue them if Ellie's ears fell off, Ellie tugged at my sleeve and said, "That girl looks really scared." I stooped down, turned her toward me, and said, "Are you sure you want to do this? You can back out if you're too scared." She wanted to do it. In about three minutes, the girl was done and looked happy and relieved and her ears looked cute.

Then it was Ellie's turn. She sat up in the chair and squirmed and grabbed my hand. As we were sitting there, a crowd of tweeny girls walked in and saw her. "Is she getting her ears pierced?" they asked me.

"Yes, she is," I answered. They turned to Ellie, who leaned into me.
"Oh my God. Don't worry," a dark-haired girl said. "I was so nervous but it didn't hurt at all."
"It's so true," another girl said. "I thought I was going to cry I was so scared, but it really didn't hurt. It didn't hurt at all."
"There's a teddy bear on the floor," a blonde girl said, pointing under Ellie's chair. "Do you want to hold the bear?" Ellie shook her head no and just gripped my arms tighter.

The woman who worked there got all her supplies ready, marked a few dots on Ellie's ears to find the best spot, and told Ellie not to worry. "It's really not bad," she said. "I wouldn't like my job if I had to hurt little girls all day." Then before Ellie could even think, she had the piercing gun to her ear and the first earring was in. She moved swiftly to the other side and in a flash, the second earring was in.

About 20 girls had gathered to watch and as soon as it was over, everyone oooohed and aaaahed and I quickly picked Ellie up and brought her to the mirror. She was slightly upset because her ears did hurt, but she worked through it and she was amazed that they were pierced. I couldn't believe it either.

Everyone told her she was so brave and by the time I paid and left the store, she said they didn't hurt anymore but they felt weird.

The entire trip home, all yesterday, and most of today, Ellie and I have been trading off saying, "I can't believe I/you did it!"