The gate is open, and she stepped through.

We started the day with all the great expectations you might imagine for our first real mother-daughter experience. Yes, I birthed her, nursed her, and tuck her in at night. But, you can do that with boys. This was to be our first "girl time." It was just she and I, a stranger in the mall, two ear rings, and a needle.

Savannah was so excited she looked as though she would pop! I brought her shirt (her substitution for a blankie) and Savannah Bear but they were far from that little girl's mind. She showed no fear as she walked into the mall.

After climbing into The Chair, I gave her Savannah Bear just in case. Still, Savannah was all smiles. She posed for pictures as her attendant pinned back her hair in preparation for the ear impaling.



Once everything was in place and the ears had been prepped, fear begin to seep into Savannah's mind. But still she sat there awaiting the "noodle" that would pierce her ears and open the gate from toddler-land into girlhood.

In spite of the look on her face in the pic below, she still did not want to turn back.

Pop! And one ear was pierced. Why not do them at the same time? Long story, but to make it quick, the other woman in the store was not available. This was a BIG mistake!!! Savannah cried. I guess the "noodle" hurt her more than she thought it would. Her first post ear ring proclamation was that there will be no second ear ring under any circumstances. She was irate.

The lovely and patient attendant showed her all the beautiful ear rings in the store and was quick to point out that they come in pairs only. They sell no single ear rings. That led to the next 30 minutes of our lives being spent picking out a pair of ear rings to purchase after the second ear is pierced. Do you know how many shiny, glittery, bright ear rings Claire's carries? I tried to hurry the process along by showing her one set that had 3 pairs of ear rings. They were adorable tiny turtles, frogs, and bugs and Savannah's face turned white with panic. "Momma, I don't want to get my ears pierced that many times!!!" After laughing, I explained that they were pairs, you only wear two at a time.

The bribery of more ear rings did not appear to be working so the attendant and a store manager now helping decided to get out the suckers. At this point Savannah began enjoying the attention and had the ladies singing songs to her as she laughed.

We encouraged Savannah to eat the sucker while we ever so softly puncture the other ear. This tactic was a failure as well. Finally the sweet and patient attendant said, "How do you feel about holding her down?" Quickly I replied, "I got her, " and I grabbed her. She screamed for a second, kicked the lovely attendant in the gut and then relaxed. Pop. The second ear was done. She sat in my lap in silence. There were no tears.

It was then my turn to worry. "Are you glad you did it? " I asked. She looked up at me and smiled, "Yes."

Holding my child down while screaming was not what I pictured for this momentus mother-daughter moment but her sweet smile, and Great American Cookie afterwards was worth it.