Piercings for Paige

My dad made me wait to get my ears pierced ... first it was going to be when I was 16, then he changed it to 12, and then, with a little help from Cheri, it happened when I was 8! Because of the big deal and the torture of waiting, I have always said that I wanted my daughter to get her ears pierced when she wanted it done, regardless of her age. Brian didn't feel the same--especially when she was 2 years old and telling me my earrings were "pretty" and that she wanted some, too. So, everytime I think of it, I ask Brian if Paige can get her ears pierced ... and everytime he says "NO!". He has even managed to sway Paige against it by telling her it hurts. That's the background to my story.

We're in Colorado visiting my parents, and like I usually do when I'm thinking about it, I asked Paige if she wanted to get her ears pierced--thinking it would be fun to do when we were on a "girls day out" while the boys went to a Rockies game. Paige answered with her normal, "I don't think so--because it will hurt!" and I came back with my usual, "Oh, only for a few minutes and then it will just be pretty ... yada yada yada ...". Then something out of the ordinary happened: PAIGE SAID SHE WANTED TO GET IT DONE! WOO-HOO!! (I realize it sounds a bit like I'm a pushy mom trying to live vicariously through my daughter--I just want to clarify that I would have been fine had she waited until she was 18 to do it--if you know Paige then you know there is no "pushing" her into anything so that could have very well been the case!). The next challenge was convincing her father. That actually wasn't as difficult as I anticipated--I was just told that I'd have to deal with her not wanting to sleep on her ears, whining about them hurting, etc. I'm OK with that--I deal with Paige's whining on a daily basis anyway, so what's one more thing for her to whine about?!? ANYWAY (I'm sorry I can't keep a short story short!) Paige was PSYCHED about getting it done--Friday morning, all she did was ask if she could get her ears pierced--"When are we going?" "Can I get my ears pierced now?!?", and so on and so forth. So, after lunch, mom, Paige and I head over to Claire's at their closest mall.
Paige was in a great mood--she had already decided on pink earrings and couldn't stop talking about them. The girl that greated us was SO nice and VERY PATIENT with our squirmy girl while she marked Paige's earlobes (and patient with her picky mom that had her change the right dot a few times so they would be perfectly even ...). Here's Paige just before they did the deed:

After Paige was properly marked up, another girl came to help so that they could do both ears at once. As my heart raced, they counted to 3 and pierced Paige's ears! NOT ONE SINGLE TEAR FROM MY BRAVE GIRL! Her eyes got real wide and she said, "Mommy, it hurts!" but that was about it. Here she is immediately after the piercing:


And here she is with her piercers ... such nice girls--they made the experience even better!


About 5 minutes after it was done, Paige's ears weren't red anymore and she said they didn't hurt. We went to Cold Stone for ice cream after leaving Claire's--I think that was Paige's favorite part--along with the fact that Monna let her pick out anything she wanted while we were still at Claire's (one of Paige's favorite stores!). It was a fun day, and Paige has done very well since--she likes to turn her earrings after I get the solution on them, and she remembers to do the solution when she first wakes up and before bed. I'm proud of our brave girl--and so excited that it all went so well!