Vanity Above All

 When I was twelve-years-old my parents finally let me get my ears pierced.  I had just cut my waist-length hair and got a perm for the first time and couldn't wait to take the next step towards my "coolness".   It was with great disappointment though that  I discovered mere hours after getting my ears pierced to learn that I was severely allergic to metal. I had always thought it odd that I would get rashes on my wrist or finger whenever I wore a watch or ring, but had never related it to metal before.  Now that I had  metal inside of me though my ears were a miserable mess and I couldn't even take them out for six whole weeks. 

My ears were itchy and red all the time and would often bleed.  Looking back, I realize that I should have just taken the dang earrings out and called it good, but not me.  My sense of fashion martyrdom was such that I would rather put up with the pain and the gross looking lesions on my ears (which apparently made me a little dense too) than go back to my earring-less days.  Eventually I would just wear earrings for a few hours (during school or on a date), then take them out as soon as I got home to avoid the worst of the reactions.  My vanity won out while my ears suffered for a good 10 + years before I finally realized that it would take a lot more than stylish earrings and big bangs to make me cool. 

Now I haven't worn earrings in over a decade, I'll never be able to wear watches, I can't wear my wedding ring at night, and recently I've noticed that I even react to my aluminum based deodorants. 

So you can imagine it was with great trepidation when Cami started asking to get her ears pierced several years back.  She'd always been my rashy child with bad eczema and I was just so sure she'd react to metal like I had, but we felt like we had to let her try it for herself.  A few years ago we let her Grandma Sandy take her to the mall and give it a try.  She was nine-years-old and thankfully NOT allergic to metal.  She can wear any type of cute earring she wants and never have a problem.  

But we'd started a precedent.  Since Cami was nine when we relented, that meant that the day Emma turned nine we started getting pestered about when it was her turn.

As we had for Cami, we opted for the Christmas present route for fun (and for cool Aunt Heather who was in town). 

She was bit nervous...

but in the end was as happy as could be with her newfound sparkle!

 

  And after a week

I think it's safe to speak

Daddy's genes

raced to the scene

and give her a shot at cool

unlike her poor mama fool.

Emma's got the bling

without the sting!  

Sorry about the poetry again...

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