I was there when Callie got earrings
Callie, you got earrings the weekend after you turned 3 years old. Here’s the story.
Cora was 4YO and had wanted earrings for several months. When we decided that she was sufficiently serious to go through with it your mom took Cora to a kiosk at the mall to let her pick out some earrings and get pierced. That first time Cora was great at picking out the earrings but not so brave when it came to having her ears pierced. We got very close to the actual piercing but ended up leaving that day with ears still intact.
We repeated that scene again, the brave girl turning frightened and leaving without her earrings. Then, driving home from church one Sunday Cora asked to be taken back to the earring kiosk a third time. This time she was sure she would be brave and get her ears pierced. Callie spoke up: “I want my ears pierced too.”
Well, by the time we got to the mall Cora had already changed her mind. She had worked herself up into such a fear of the ear piercing that she refused to leave the van. But Callie still said she wanted her ears pierced so I took her inside.
Callie, you were brave. We’d already paid for Cora’s earrings and piercing on a previous visit and had store credit. The sales woman showed you the earrings Cora had picked out and you liked them. She had you sit on my lap while she got things ready. She put dots on your ears with a black pen so she’d know where to pierce. Then she pierced: first the right ear, then the left.
You jumped a little at the first piercing but didn’t make any noise. I thought, Wow! My little girl is tough! After the second pierce you started to cry. It was the silent way you used to start your cries when you were really hurt or angry. I felt so bad for you, but so proud that you had gone through with it. You made a choice, you sucked it up, you saw it through. And you were three.
I helped you feel better and stop crying by getting you a drink and walking around the mall a little. I don’t remember exactly what I told you but it was all about how proud I was of you and how beautiful you looked with your earrings. I was your biggest fan, and to this day I’m still your biggest fan.
When we got back to the van your mommy loved the earrings and your sister was more than a little jealous.