07. May 2013 · Comments Off on Piercing Memory · Categories: C. 1 to 4 years · Tags:

I have a long life memory going back to the day when my mother pierced my ears.  I remember the room and the new pink jewelry box on the table.  It is just like the one my sister has.

earrings1

My mother says that since I am almost two years old it is now my turn to collect treasures.  To wear earrings, I need to have tiny holes in my earlobes.   My sister and my mother have earring holes.  I see the long needle in her hand and shrink back against my nanny’s comforting tunic.  But Ah Seem is on my mother’s side.  She shows me that she also has earring holes.

“It’s not going to hurt much,” my mother says.  I hold still.

It hurts!  I do not hold still for the other ear, and that is why one of the holes in my ears is crooked.

My mother says don’t be a crybaby.  Ah Seem just holds me.