Regret

My basic nature requires that I live with a great deal of regret and being the mother of three children triples the amount of regret that I live with. One of my biggest regrets as a mother is that I didn't pierce my girls' ears when they were babies. I know, it seems dumb, but I knew that they'd want them pierced eventually and it's so much easier to just do it as babies, I should have just done it then. Now I've created problems.

Jane has been desperate for several months to get her ears pierced and I told her that she could do it whenever she wanted to, but she was terrified. I don't blame her, the thought of forcing two more holes into my head isn't a pleasant one for me either.

In an effort to appease my guilt and satisfy her apparent need for adornment (that's a word, right?), I made her several pairs of clip on earrings. I felt like quite an attentive parent. She would wear them as long as her little ears could tolerate them, but they pinch! I can't imagine that piercing them hurts any less that clipping those things on.

Finally, Saturday morning, she must have had enough because she came in our room, woke me up, and with a look of utter and complete determination said

"Mom, I'm going to get my ears pierced today. I'm gunna do it."

I didn't take her seriously because I was sure she'd bail. She didn't. I held my word and took her to the mall where she bravely sat there and took the pain like a pro. Not a flinch and not a tear. That's saying something, coming from Jane who cries at the drop of a hat.



I'm actually really proud of her for going through with it, bravery isn't her strength. Now I just have the rest of my life to regret that I've been raising her to allow her vanity to motivate her that much. Oh well. I'll worry about that another day. She's stinking adorable.