a story of my determined girl~

SO for those of you who know Emma....I know you can imagine this right along w/ me! Two weeks ago on a Monday night we went to get Emma ears pierced. This is something that Alex and I decided to do as part of her Christmas, but we wanted her to be able to receive earrings for Christmas and since I wasn't going to make her and wasn't sure if she would go through w/ it, we decided to do it early so we can change her earrings for the first time at Christmas.....so here is the story
a few months ago Emma started asking about earrings often....she noticed mine and her cousins Savannah's....she asked how we got them...did it hurt? When did I get mine....Why didn't Jesus "just put the hole there" and about every question you could come up w/ she asked. I always answered her questions and then she would go on about her day and that would be that. Finally the day came when she asked how do you get your ears pierced? and I told her the whole process....not leaving anything out....I told her that you go to the store and pick out the earrings that you want...you sit in a special chair...a lady puts dots on your ears and then they put a box up to your ear and snap it and the earring goes in. and she states..and that hurts...?...yes, I told, her like a shot, it will hurt, but only for a minute then it's over....this kept her quiet for a minute, then she looks at me and says...mommy, I'm ready, I want to get my ears pierced...I wondered if she had heard me, so I restated the obvious...it will hurt. Her reply was...but only for a minute...I told her I would need to talk it over w/ her daddy.

discloser:all of the above was said so that everyone would know that I didn't trick my daughter into thinking that it would be fun and w/o pain, I gave her a FULL picture of what this would look like before, I didn't pressure her to do this....she wanted to...enough that she was willing to take to pain!...end of discloser! :)

So we make a trip to Libby Lu on a Monday night...I worried about taking her at night, but it worked out perfect, we were the only people in the store the whole time...on the way in "grammy's" car....(she wanted grammy to go....for support I'm sure!...although I'm not so sure grammy was thrilled to be selected for this trip! lol....moms is a softy...but wait to see who's even softer!) so on the way Emma was very quiet...not a scared...well I'm sure a little scared, but more determined. When we arrived she was excited and loved getting to pick out which earrings she wanted...she warmed up to the ladies who were working...which by the way were AWESOME!...they told her what they were going to do....which was exactly what I had told her...she seemed reassured....they put her in the chair and again she went completely silent....TOTALLY DETERMINED! It was almost laughable, I saw how much she wanted this...she sat there looking so small, like a cat wanting to bolt, but yet she was going to sit there and get her earrings....no matter what! So they got the dots on and lined up and they put the box thingy (I am glad it doesn't look like a gun anymore!) to her ear and told her they were going to count to 5....but gave a highsign to mom and I that it would be 3....(I knew this would blow Emma's mind...she is trusting and doesn't like things to not go as she is told....so I held my breath and waited....1...2....3...SNAP!...4....5...6...and then it was as if it hit her. Her eyes got so big and the tears followed. It took them a few more seconds and then she was straight into my arms...looking at me as though I had betrayed her....I of course felt horrible...I knew I had told her, but I felt like I broke her trust in me somehow. She left me for Grammy and they walked around the store to find a mirror...which she refused from "one of those ladies"..as she called them later! LOL...I realized that she wasn't mad at me...she was mad at them...in her mind they lied to her and that was that....(I almost feel the need for another disclaimer....I know they had to do that...they didn't want her to flinch or pull away...so they needed her to anticipate 5...not 3)but in her mind, there was no understanding of that at all....they lied, that was it for them. So we left and went to get her something to drink. I was carrying her and as we passed the cookie stand she says "mommy...I think I'm hungry too...." I almost dropped her I was laughing so hard....it sure didn't hurt her quick thought process at all! Next we were off to children's place where I had promised to let her use a perks coupon instead of a cookie. She picked out a purse that matched her Christmas dress and 2 hair bows...one of which HAD to be green to "match her earrings!" I called Alex to let him know it was over and successful and told him about the cookie idea to which he wanted to know why I didn't get her one!....so as you can see Emma did great w/ getting her ears pierced....mommy and daddy are still recovering. LOL

I think all in all it was a great experience for her, I imagine she won't even remember it when she grows up, but I know I will never forget it. I know this is only a small dose of what I will feel when other people hurt my baby girl, and that makes me dread her growing up....but to see how well she did w/ this, I know she will be able to handle whatever the world may throw at her....and hopefully she will know that mommy and grammy will always be there for her to cry on...just w/o the shopping trip! lol