As alluded to previously, Mom and I didn’t always agree on issues. For example, when I was 5-years-old, I decided it was high time to get my ears pierced. Mom felt that I might still be a bit too young and told me I’d have to wait until I finished the first grade. True to her word, as soon as I completed the first grade at Ridgecrest Elementary School, Mom took me to Titches Department Store to have my ears pierced.
I couldn’t have been more excited! As I sat in the chair waiting to have my ears prepared for the procedure, thoughts of grandeur as a “pierced” woman filled my head. However, after the piercing gun riveted the golden stud through my right earlobe…tears filled my eyes. I had not anticipated the pain that often accompanies a beautification process. Valiantly, I sat still while my left ear was pierced, then I cried like a baby! As she had planned, Mom went ahead and took me to Charlie Brown’s restaurant for a celebratory chili cheese coney, but she allowed me to eat in silence while I regained my ladylike composure.
Nearly a decade later, having forgotten the piercing pain I’d experienced as a young child, I decided I was ready for a double piercing. This time, Mom put her foot down and refused to give in, but I was determined and had developed the tenacity that characterizes a true *Sistren. One Saturday morning, my 15-year-old self went to Kay Jewelers in Heartland Mall and signed a paper certifying that I was indeed eighteen-years-old and quite capable of deciding exactly how many holes I should have in my head. I then had my ears double pierced.
Unfortunately, this procedure didn’t go as smoothly as my first piercing. In fact, my ears became so infected that I had to let the second set of piercings close up. Mom never even offered to take me to Charlie Brown's Restaurant (or any restaurant at all) in order to process this piercing pain! However, she did seem to feel that somehow through my suffering, God had vindicated her, and she graciously forgave me my transgression.
Over the years, I’ve had my ears pierced several times, but I’ll never forget my first two piercings.The first one was magical and painful and has lasted throughout the years. The second one was exciting, but didn’t work out after all. Both of them very much include my mom as one of the main characters.
*See my Growing Up: In the Beginning post for a definition of Sistren
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