Gracie’s New Hardware

It has been a long, emotional 24 hours in my city.  As the victim’s names are released, we find connections to them in all different places.  Former students of coworkers, friends of friends, church members, sons, and daughters.  It is just heartbreaking to watch this happen to our community.  Thank you for letting me use my so very nonpolitical corner of the blogosphere to share some of my frustrations, anger, and hurt.  I know that this issue is very divisive and I normally avoid topics like this like the plague, but when it’s on my heart, it’s hard to think or write about anything else.  So, thank you for letting me share.  

In tragic situations like these, I often find the greatest way to grieve is to carry on.  And so, I’m moving on in my blog with happy, pointless thoughts from a silly family, as usual.  But know that my heart is with my city, my community, and those that are forever changed by these events.  

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A few months ago, Gracie started asking to get her ears pierced.  I had no idea where this came from.  She just suddenly started talking about it.  One of her best friends has had her ears pierced since she was a baby, but it was like Gracie just suddenly noticed this.  She talked about it all the time.  And she must not have been the only one because just last week, one of Gracie’s other best friends went out and got her ears pierced, too.  Well, this just sent Gracie into overdrive on her mission to get her ears pierced.

Chris and I had this unofficial family policy that we would not make the decision to get Gracie’s ears pierced ourselves.  They were her ears and when and if she asked, then we’d be fine with it, but we didn’t feel like that was our decision to make.  BUT WE WEREN’T EXPECTING TO HAVE TO DEAL WITH IT AT FIVE YEARS OLD!  Sheesh!  I tried to kind of ignore her about it for the past month, but then I thought, “Eh… Why not?”

We were having lunch on Sunday afternoon and Gracie asked for the 5,391st time if she could get her ears pierced.

“Okay,” I said.  “Let’s go today.”

I don’t think she was expecting that because her eyes got really big and she squeaked out, “T-t-today?”

But then she started squealing and dancing and jumping all around, so I took her to the mall and WHAM-O.  Ears pierced.

We went to one Claire’s and they only had one person to do it, which meant they would have had to pierce them one at a time. Fearing that we would walk out of there with only one ear pierced, we went to a different Claire’s in the mall (since where are malls big enough for TWO Claire’s?!) and they were able to pierce both ears at the same time.

And while we are talking logistics, I had no idea it would be $70 to get her ears pierced! I was thinking we’d pay $15 or $20 for the earrings and then get the free piercing. But the earrings were $68! MY earrings don’t even cost $68! I kept thinking, “I’m paying $70 for them to poke holes in my daughter’s ears…” Crazy!

She did so well, too! She didn’t cry when they pierced them. You could definitely tell it hurt and that she wanted to cry, but she held it together like a big girl. (Though, you’ll notice that the video ends immediately, just in case I needed to get in there and scoop her up!)

When we left the store, I could tell that she was upset. Gracie does this thing where she gets a strange look on her face as she tries to hold herself together. But the minute you show her just the littlest bit of sympathy, the waterworks come on. Sweet girl. So, we sat on a bench in the mall and I put my arm around her and told her how proud I was of her. And then I asked, “Are you okay, sweet pea?” And she just lost it! Oh, my heart! Poor munchkin! We sat on the mall bench for about ten minutes while she just cried, cried, cried.

She finally pulled herself together (after I offered a cookie from the cookie shop in the food court…) and we went on with our day. I was going to drop her off at home before I went grocery shopping so that she could get some Tylenol and ice for her ears, but she insisted on going with me. “I want to show my friends at Target,” she said. (The produce and bakery staff know her by name there! Ha!)

She now looks in every mirror around and every time she does she says, “Oooooohhh!” like it’s the first time she’s seen her earrings! She looks about five years older. I thought Chris was going to start crying when we got home and showed him. “She just looks so much older,” he kept saying, over and over again.

Now, we have to put solution on her ears and turn her earrings three times a day for three weeks. Gracie is already counting down to when she can switch her earrings out. She’s such a girl!

I’m counting down to the day when I have to start hiding my own jewelry…