Iris decided this week that she absolutely must have her ears pierced. We counted the sleeps until the weekend when she would finally be able to put permanent holes in her earlobes. She was soooo excited omg only two more sleeps gahhhhhhhhh!!!!
And then.
We got to the mall and there was a gaggle of teenage girls getting various holes punched in their collective cartilage. As she observed them, Iris started to lose confidence. The girls were so sweet, offering to let Iris watch them get pierced, but by the time the piercing gun was raised to the first girl's ear Iris was like, Thank You But NOPE. No Way, No Ma'am. (Can I Still Get Ice Cream Though?)
As we sat eating our chocolate hazelnut Pinkberry with mountains of chocolate toppings I began to swell with pride. You know the feeling, parents, when your kid does something that just makes you go, "YES. That is a little piece of what life is about. You have learned something of importance here."
I told Iris how proud I was of her for being brave enough to change her mind. I told her that it's not always easy to change our mind, but we are always, always allowed to do so. I told her that she is in charge of her body and that she is the only one who is allowed to make decisions about it. And then I told her she can decide to get her ears pierced another day, or not at all. I think she forgot that this entire endeavor was completely optional. She seemed very relieved to be off the hook... even though this was all her idea and I never encouraged or discouraged any of it.
We ended up going back to the store and I bought her a pair of magnetic earrings. I have no idea how long those will last but she loves them for now.
I love natural teaching moments! Especially ones that end with chocolate hazelnut Pinkberry.
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