It's a Woman's Prerogative to Change Her Mind

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I mentioned in a previous post that Iz had gotten her hair cut last week in a short bob. I, and everyone else, thought it looked adorable on her. Later on in the day, after I told her how lovely she looked, she moaned, "But, I look like a boy!" Of course, she did not, but I felt horrible that she felt like that, and then I happened to blurt something out to the effect of, if we got her ears pierced she might feel less like that.

For the last two years, the "When can I get my ears pierced?" question had been non-stop. I always answered this question with the very hard-to-argue-with, "When you're older," and then Iz would counter with "But, [insert-every-girl's-name-in-the-world-Iz's-age-or-under-who-had-pierced-ears-here] has her ears pierced. Why can't I?"

I had done it this time though by mentioning pierced ears as not a potential solution to her angst and woe but as THE solution. Of course, why is it that when you use profanity by accident, it seems your kids totally miss it, but when you mention a new toy, a sweet treat, or ear piercing because you are feeling guilty, well, they ALWAYS hear that?!

I swear that Iz looked just like Liam at that moment when I shake the cat treats. Her ears perked up, her eyes got bright, and then she asked, unlike Liam, "Mommy, can we get my ears pierced this week?" I countered with, "Err, um, ah, well...." which was not well received. And Iz said, "But, Mommy, you SAID I could get my ears pierced!"

I had originally thought that she could get her ears pierced when she was in 7th grade. Why 7th grade? Well, that's when my Mom let me get mine pierced. Of course, after thinking about it, I remember thinking in 5th grade what a total killjoy my Mom was for making me wait until 7th grade.

Currently, I have two holes in each ear. I remember my Mom saying before I got the second hole in each ear, "You already have enough holes in your head!" Of course, my Mom was a pretty no-frills woman -- makeup and perfume (Emeraude or Jean Nate) only on very special occasions, no earrings (she had gotten her ears pierced and shortly thereafter let them close up, because she couldn't be bothered with them), and no radio in her car ("I never listen to it anyway!"). Jeez, I have to put on lip gloss to go to the supermarket, even if I am wearing my "I haven't showered yet" Hello Kitty baseball cap.

Anyway, I had to get used to the whole idea of Iz getting her ears pierced before my Mom's mandated 7th grade guideline. So, I told her "We can go next week." I probably would have let her get them done earlier, but I remember being at the mall about two years ago and witnessing a six-month old getting her ears pierced. The baby was shrieking, and I almost pounded on the window and screamed, "That's child abuse!" I walked away most upset thinking that ear piercing was to be done at a time when a child was old enough to understand that sometimes you endured a little pain for such things and not so young to be thinking, "Why are you hurting me?"

As soon as Monday came around, Iz was trying to close me for a date. She then proceeded to tell me all the places you can get pierced -- ears, nose, lips, belly button, and tongue. Thank God, she stopped there and didn't mention any of the other body parts that I knew could be pierced in addition!

In the interim, I surveyed my girlfriends on when they had let their daughters get their ears pierced or were thinking about letting their daughters get their ears pierced, trying to convince myself that six-and-a-half was an acceptable age for such a thing. (Iz was only 6 once on her birthday, February 24th; Iz tracks her age incrementally, as she was six-and-a-half on August 24th. She even tried to get a cake and presents for her "half" birthday, too!) My only hesitation was that she was too young to care for them, but then I thought if I had the time to give Rover fluids every few days, then I definitely had the time to tend to Iz's ears the first few crucial weeks.

So, yesterday, we headed to Claire's at the mall for the holes-in-head deed. When we arrived, there was a young girl in the chair getting her ears pierced. I asked her Mother, "Um, how old is she?" The mother said, "Nine." I thought, "Well, Iz is six-and-a-half, which is almost nine." Obviously, I was still having doubts, though I wasn't the only one. I thought it would be good for Iz to watch this little girl get her ears done, so Iz would see that it was a pretty run-of-the-mill thing.

There was another mother with her two daughters behind us watching as well. The mother's younger daughter asked, "Mom, can I get my ears pierced today." The mother quickly said, "No. I want you to wait until your earlobes grow a bit more." Damn! Why didn't I think of that one?!

After the little girl's ears were pierced, she was told, "Don't touch your ears, because they might get infected." I said to Iz, "Remember, you need to make sure your hands are clean when you touch your ears, and you can't touch your earrings after you first get them." The expression of excitement on Iz's face changed to one of hesitation, and she asked, "Mommy, can we come back tomorrow?" I told her that was fine, and I asked her why. She said, "Because I touch my ears a lot!" We headed home shy two holes in Iz's head. :-)

This morning, I asked Iz if we were going back to Claire's today. She said, "Mommy, I'm going to wait 'til I'm six-and-three-quarters." <3