Tuesday, July 12, 2005

The Piercing of Girl

My older children have been receiving some rewards for helping out with SmallBoy and taking turns sacrificing their summer free time. Last week PC took them to see War of the Worlds...FABULOUS movie, btw, and I am SO NOT a fan of Mr. Polly Prissy-Pants Tom Cruise. They LOVED it! Girl has been asking since way back in basketball season if she could get her cartilage pierced (ears, not nose...trust me). I told her that after the season was over that she needed to talk it over with her father and with me and that we'd think about it. Well, basketball season ended and she was raring to go. Her dad said ok and I said ok. One snag...softball season. Now, all of these sports require that you wear NO jewelry of any kind. That proves to be a bit difficult when you have to leave a freshly pierced anything in for at least 8wks before removing it. So, we waited out softball season which just ended last weekend. She checked with her dad to make sure it was still ok with him and then we were off.

"Mom, Suzie Q told me about this great place in the mall to get it done." We went in search of the place that Suzie Q had told her about only to find it was merely a kiosk in the center of the mall. NO WAY!!! Instead we chose to go to a more known accessories store that has a reputation for good piercings. As we walked in, we stumbled across a family getting their baby girl's ears pierced and she was screaming bloody murder. I told Girl that she was going to have to hold my hand while she got it done or I was going to hurl. She assured me all would be well and that she would be a big girl.

Then came all of the instruction forms and releases that we had to sign. I had to lie about her birthday. I don't know about anywhere else, but in the Land of Lincoln, one must be 13 to have cartilage pierced, even with parental consent. So, I had to fudge her birthday by a few months...ok, so I fudged it by a year, it was just easier to do the math that way. So Girl hopped up in the chair, looked at where the purple marker dot was on her ear and told the girl, "Starr", to go for it. As I turned my head away, I squished in my stomach so that I wouldn't feel it turn inside out at the crunching sound of the piercing. No crunch. I thought she had chickened out. Nope. I turned around and there it was. She looks like a real live teenager now. Lord, help me!

"Did it hurt?" I asked her. She told me that the piercing itself didn't hurt but good Lord was there pain and burning afterwards. She's a tough girl, though. I'm proud of her. I didn't faint. I'm proud of me, too.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think cartilage piercing is against the uniform code at that uptight school we send our children. I mean, if they can't wear nail polish, what makes you think they can wear piercings in the cartilage?!!!! Oh wait, I'm being my usual negative self.....they'll be so excited because the school board will have a special meeting on girl's piercing and the uniform by-laws will be amended or forever upheld.

And, to think that the Supreme Court has issues.......they ain't seen nothing as compared to teeth-baring mother's dying to chew on an infraction in the uniform policy.

You Go Girl!!!!!

mommyguilt said...

OH GIRL! Did you hear what they did to the girls' uniforms? They changed the stupid plaid on the skirts and are requiring now that ALL girls get the stupid ribbed bottom shirts. It is no longer optional to get polo shirts or short sleeved blouses and tuck them in. Two more years in that uptight little school and I have to buy a whole new freaking uniform at $38/skirt!

If they don't want her cartilage pierced then tough tooties. I know that several girls last year had them. Uh oh! This could be the beginning of...egads!... a TREND!!!!!

Julie said...

a real live teenager, eh? Eeecckkk--I've only got 2 years to go before that starts here.

Anonymous said...

Just a question. If you have to be 13 to get ears pierced, how was that family having their baby's ears pierced?!

mommyguilt said...

Clarification: I meant to say one must be 13yrs of age to get the cartilage pierced. Please forgive my supremo dorko error. Smoochies!