A Piecing Experience

We were, of course, at The Walmarts, grocery shopping. The girls had some cash to spend because my parents, awesome grandparents that they are, had given them both money as a reward for awesome report cards (that’s another post.)

We were in the jewelry section of the store, browsing the necklaces and the bracelets. Alyssa was looking at the earrings because, as we all know, she has both ears pierced twice and so she can wear to pairs at all times.

Olivia looked at some of the pierced earrings. Alyssa caught O looking and said, “If you had your ears pierced, you could buy some of these.”

Olivia pondered that statement. She gazed longingly at the earrings and then asked me, “Does Walmart pierce ears?”

“They do, but we aren’t going to get your ears pierced here. If you want them pierced, we’ll go to Claire’s.”

She thought a little more and then declared, “I want them pierced.”

Hmmm…

This was the first time she’d ever actually said that. Over the years, we’ve asked her on several occasions if she wanted to get her ears pierced and each time she’d answer with an adamant, “No!” Then she’d look at us like we were crazy.

I suggested, “Okay, how about you give it a week and if you want your ears pierced, we’ll go to Claire’s next week and get it done?”

She didn’t really like that suggestion because, yeah, it involved waiting. She used logic to convince me that we should do it right then. “But next week is Lyssie’s birthday party and I’ll be a Gram’s. We should just do it today.”

And so that was that. We finished our grocery shopping, we got in the car and headed to the nearest Claire’s. The entire way, I asked her, “Are you sure about this? You know you can change your mind and I won’t be mad.”

“I’m sure,” she said gleefully, fully committed to this now that she’d decided it was time. “But you and Lyssie will hold my hands, right? The whole time they’re poking holes in my ears you guys will hold my hands?”

“Of course we will,” Lyss and I assured her.

She was almost vibrating with excitement. “I can’t believe I’m going to get my ears pierced,” she said over and over during the ten minute drive to Claire’s.

When we got there, we were lucky that there was no one else in the store so we got the lady who works there all to ourselves.

Olivia picked out her earrings. Can you guess which ones she picked? Go ahead, guess…

Yep, Elsa earrings. Of course Elsa earrings, right? I mean, not even pink sparkles can compete with Elsa.

She asked me and Alyssa several times if it was going to hurt. We both answered honestly, that yes, it stings a little and is a little sore after but that it really doesn’t hurt much.

She climbed into the chair and held out her hands for me and Alyssa to hold. I had to let go of her once so the lady doing the piercing could move from one side of O to the other but other than that, Olivia held tight to our hands.

And then she did it. She sat there and let that lady stab earrings through her lobes. And they’re adorable.



When we were done the first thing she wanted to do was go to her Gram’s house and show her. My mom has been trying to get Liv to get her ears pierced for years. This is only because Olivia so loves to be fancy and always wants earrings but do you know how hard it is to find clip-on earrings that don’t pinch?

Anyway, my mom was very proud of our girl for going through with it.

Tom’s response was, “Oh my gosh! You’re a woman now!”

Through the night, Liv gave that response a little thought and the next morning asked me, “Why did Dad say that? I’m already a young woman, even without pierced ears?”

All the next day she’d randomly announce, “All three of the girls in this house have holes in their ears. We all have our ears pierced.” And, “I can’t believe I have my ears pierced.”

She’s very proud of herself and loves the way her ears look with the earrings in them.

My girl is growing up.