Something New

This little lady is my JOY. I sit here gazing at this beautiful shot of her, and can't stop wondering what I did to deserve this amazing little person. If I think TOO hard about it, I can get all worked up about the incredible responsibility it is. It is my job to bring this perfect being into adulthood with the least amount of damage as possible, and THAT, my friends, is HUGE. I have to make the right decisions....and then hope for the best. I do not take this lightly.

When Sugar Bear was 3, she wanted to get her ears pierced. I asked her, "Why?", and she listed her friends that already had it done. I told her that when she could tell me why SHE wanted her ears pierced, and not because her friends have their ears pierced, then I'd think about it. She dropped the subject until shortly before her 6th birthday. One day, she just said, "Mom, can I get my ears pierced when I turn 6?" Again....I asked her why. She mentioned that she thinks they look pretty, and she wants them to match her clothes. I replied that I would think about it, and get back to her.

Here's the deal, folks, I don't have strong feelings about when it is appropriate to get one's ears pierced. I almost always have strong feelings one way or another, so this one stumped me. I thought....and thought....and talked to friends.....and thought, and agonized and still came up with nothing that could remotely be considered a "stand" on how I felt about this particular issue. So finally, I decided that since there are PLENTY of things that I will be "that mom" about as Sugar Bear grows......and this....I don't seem to feel strongly about...I can let Sugar Bear decided. She can have this....I'll have sleep overs, make-up, dating.....and many more. So for her birthday, I bought some pretty earrings, and wrapped them up to let her know that I said, "yes!" She was VERY excited.

Then....."When?" and that's when mama started to stall. I came up with every excuse in the book to put it off. There was disneyland, and dance class. Teenage piercers, and being busy. Soon it was MONTHS past her birthday and I overheard her tell a friend, "I'm gonna get my ear's pierced, too, but I'll probably be 7!" Oh how my girl knows me. :) I'm still not sure why I stalled, but I just didn't feel ready.

The other day, I felt like I really owed it to my girl to get on with this thing. After all....it is 6 months past her birthday. So.....I bit the bullet and last Friday we did it. These first two photos are the last pictures of my girl's ears intact. sigh.....Can you tell that she is very excited?

I have always been honest with Sugar Bear, so when she asked me if it would hurt, I told her that it would. We talked about all the girls she knew who already have their ears pierced, and she decided that if THEY could do it....so could she. We talked about it only hurting for a second or so. I really did expect her to be pretty anxious, but she was a champ. She jumped right up in that chair, and hugged the bear. She is a cautious girl....so she watched everything the piercing lady did to prepare. I know she looks nervous in this shot.....she was....but not as bad as I thought she'd be.

She still had smiles when she was getting her ears prepped. She mentioned that it tickled. :)

She held really still to get her ears marked. It is interesting how much I had never noticed about Sugar's ears. Sitting there staring at her ears to see if I liked the positioning, I saw all sorts of things I never noticed about the shape, size, and quirks of her ears. ♥ We are all so very unique.

Okay....so Sugar Bear might have been as cool as a cucumber....Mama was a bit anxious. I didn't cry or anything, but I was pacing....and talking a mile a minute....and obviously in another world, as I totally messed up the shots of the actual piercing. I was too close, and had my lens wide open. The focal point was the piercing gun, so Sugar's face is out of focus. I know this stuff...but darn it...I was preoccupied with thoughts of someone poking holes in my child. Interestingly enough, I took about 4 shots of each ear being pierced, and Sugar's face is IDENTICAL in every single one. This particular shot is of the second ear being done, and it actually shows the earring going in.

There were no tears, and she said that it didn't hurt as much as she expected it to. "I thought it would be worse than a shot."

We chose titanium cobalt blue earrings. Blue is our favorite color. :)

Sugar is pretty excited about her new earrings, and can't wait for the 6 weeks to be over so she can put in different ones to match her clothes. I'm okay. Every time I look at her....it's all I see. These earrings. I'm still not sure how I feel about it. Right now, I miss her naked ears, but the earrings don't upset me. I'm just unsure, but I'm sure I'll get used to it. It's just SOMETHING NEW!