Our eldest daughter, Emily, got her ears pierced for her 10th birthday. It was a much anticipated event as she began asking to get her ears pierced somewhere around the age of 6 or 7. I remembered getting my ears pierced...at age 5...and the drama that ensued. My poor mom! There were a lot of tears each time we had to clean my ears or change the earrings. I try to be one of those people that learn from my experiences, and therefore I set the magical age of 10 for my own daughter's first experience with earrings. I am extremely pleased with my decision! She has been very self sufficient and able to handle it all on her own, no whining involved.
Having and wearing earrings is a pretty trivial act in this day and age. You see it everywhere...on women and men alike. But I have a clever God, who likes to teach us not only with big life lessons, but also in the trivial, everyday matters. What have both Emily and I learned from earrings? Allow me to share...
Sometimes it is in our best interest to wait. Waiting is hard and I will be the first to admit that I am not very good at it. I like to have things worked out now, if not yesterday! However, there are times it is in our best interest to wait. Waiting could make the situation easier, more meaningful, enjoyable, or all of the above. That extra time will allow us to be more prepared to handle what comes our way. Emily really wanted earrings, but by waiting, she was able to have a very positive experience. Learning to wait is a valuable life skill.
The other lesson I am reminded of is not to cut corners. If you are going to do something, then take the time and put in the effort to do it right. Emily is dying to wear dangly earrings, but our care information sheet recommended only wearing post style earrings for the first six months. "Mom, my friend wore danglies right away, and her ears are fine!" Emily pleaded. My response? No. Wait. Not only because of the reason listed above, but because I want to teach her that even though it is tempting to take short-cuts, even when everyone else is doing the minimum to get by, there is no substitute for a job fully done and done well.
All that from earrings. Who would've guessed? I wonder what will be next. Hmm...what could the TV remote be saying to me???
1 comment:
Great thoughts, Laura. I've given Bethie the magical age ten, too. Often I'm tempted to cave, but I like your view of things -- she'll appreciate it all the more as the anticipation grows. And patience, as they say, is definitely a virtue!
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