I Have Holes in My Head
Woman in the Middle | January 18, 2013When I turned thirteen years old my mother let me get my ears pierced. Other than the fact that I ended up with holes in my ears I have no memory of the event. I don’t even remember if it was painful. I do remember the thrill of getting to wear earrings. It made me feel so grown up! I also remember that I had to keep the little gold balls in for several weeks and wipe them with alcohol to prevent infection. But the thrill of getting to wear earrings more than made up for the inconvenience.
Fast forward fifteen years and I had my first baby. Little babies like to reach for earrings so I started wearing them less and less. Add to that the dratted nickel allergy that caused some issues and before you know it first one hole then the other closed up and I didn’t wear earrings for many many years. I decided to rectify that situation and on December 31st I went to the mall, with Youngest Daughter to offer moral support, and got my ears repierced. Here are my observations on the “hole” process:
1. Sleeping with earrings on is just as annoying now as it has ever been.
2. While I look forward to being able to wear earrings again, I am not nearly as excited at 51 as I was at 13.
3. Sending a pointed piece of metal though the earlobe at a high rate of speed hurts. I may have forgotten that fact from my ear piercing at 13 but I will never forget it from my piercing at 51. It was a fascinating combination of a nasty stinging sensation and the feeling that someone was grabbing my earlobe and pinching it very hard. Nothing to keep me from doing it again but definitely not pleasant.
4. Those people who pierce their babies earlobes are just mean. Having had it done again reminded me how much it hurt. I can not IMAGINE doing that to an infant. I don’t care if everyone thinks your little girl is a boy. DON”T DO IT!
5. I have already started spiffing up my long outdated earring wardrobe. I can’t wait to start wearing more earrings !
6. Once again, people who say I have holes in my head will be making an accurate statement.
The SITS Girls
My mother had her ears done when she was in her early 50s. I took her to the mall. There was a little girl about 6 or 7 that was first. Where you sat to have it done was in the open where people could see you. The little girl got her ears pierced and smiled happily at her mother. My mom went up. She said it hurt but she certainly couldn’t yell after the little girl was so good. I laughed all the way home. I don’t think it hurts the same for everyone. There maybe advantages to having it done younger or so it seemed to my mother. I was in my teens when I had mine done and I have no memory of it.
That little girl must have had a very high pain tolerance!
Ok I have piece ears had mine done when I was 14 and I still remember it hurting, next I would never piece a baby’s ears I think it is wrong and my niece who is 3 has had hers done since she was a baby…………….wrong I say wrong………………………..next I think it is even more wrong when parents get their baby boy’s ear pieced………………..
I thought I was reading about myself when I read this.I got my ears pierced at 13. I do remember how painful it was. No gun to shoot those earrings through. My mom worked for a doctor and he pierced my ears with a needle. One ear, he came out the side and had to do it again. That hole never did heal right a d sometimes I still hit it when I put an earring in. Mine still can get I infected if I wear Nickel earrings and sometimes they start to close and I have to repierce them.
I am hoping if I wear those earring that don’t have nickel I won’t have as many problems. I didn’t mention that I never liked where the hole was in my left ear so I had them pierce it in a different spot. I decided I would rather have the scar from the old piercing instead of a hole in the same annoying place again! Not quite as exciting as your sideways piecing, but I thought it was amusing that we both had misplaced piercings as well.
I don’t think parents should pierce their infants’ ears either. Let the children decide if they want pierced ears when they are old enough to decide.
Have fun shopping for new earrings!
Congrats! I waited until I was 24 to get my ears pierced.