There's been much talk these past few months about ear piercings. I think this may have been inspired by the character "Roxy Hunter". A 9 year old detective who solves various mysteries in her home town of Serenity Falls accompanied by her best friend, Max, an 11 year old boy genius. Roxy has an eclectic sense of fashion which includes lots of hats, vests and big, dangly earrings.This topic of ear piercing for young girls elicits some surprising reactions from folks. When we mentioned to family and friends that Em might be getting her ears pierced, reactions varied widely from horror and condemnation that we would let our 8 year old daughter do this, to support and joy (I think this was from the folks who had very fond memories of the excitement and pleasure that their own ear piercing may have been).
Paul and I both felt that Em was old enough and responsible enough to take care of her own body in this particular regard. Ear piercings require 4-6 weeks of twice a day cleanings. That's a pretty big commitment for a young child. We showed Em various YouTube videos of other children getting their ears pierced (some were happy little family videos of this female rite of passage, some were quite disturbing movies of crying and screaming children being forced to have their ears pierced against their will). We discussed the issue of pain, the possibility of infection, etc, etc. We also asked Em to take some time to mull this over more completely rather than doing it as a spur of the moment decision. Again, this was her decision to make.
Long story short, today was the day! After calling around and doing some online research about safety and concerns regarding the various venues you can choose for ear piercings, we settled upon a business called "The Piercing Pagoda". Em woke up this morning beside herself with excitement. On the ride there, I could see the wheels spinning behind some very serious looking eyes. Mostly excitement, but a fair bit of nervousness thrown in as well.
Here's a shot of Em, absolutely beaming, as we selected her first set of earrings. Maddie and I accompanied her and helped her pick out a simple pair of silver studs. Judy, the woman who would do the actual piercing, explained the process to both Emily and me. Em was silent and serious as she climbed up into the chair. Here's a quick video clip:The piercing was a complete success. Afterwards we took a stroll around the mall to stretch our legs and purchased a celebratory donut. Emily's posture was so obviously "different" from her norm. She walked unusually erect, as graceful and queenly as I've ever seen. Neck stretched tall and elegant, head directed straight ahead, but the eyes were casting sideways glances in the store window fronts to see if she could catch glimpses of her own reflection. I suggested that perhaps we should stop in a bathroom so she could see her reflection in full and this was immediately accepted.
In talking over the actual piercing, I asked Em if it was easier or harder than she had expected. She replied "Both". She mentioned that one ear was still stinging a bit but that all in all, it was no longer painful.
As soon as we got in the car, Em immediately asked if we could make some phone calls to tell folks the big news. And so begins a month of cleanings and ministrations, but I've got a feeling Em won't mind at all.
