My mom was a hoot but her reaction to getting her ears pierced surprised me. She had all her babies at home so she could handle pain well. Maybe except for…

Mom in her 70s with pierced earrings.

I walked at the mall this morning. The Piercing Pagoda (kiosk that pierces ears and sells jewelry) has been closed since March. It triggered a long ago memory of my Mom.

I had my ears pieced when I was in my late teens. It was trendy then and everyone was doing it. You had to go to a doctor to get it done unless you trusted your girlfriend with a fat needle and an ice cube. I didn’t.

My doc didn’t pierce ears. I don’t know if he hadn’t invested in the punch equipment or he was opposed to it. Didn’t matter to me. I found another doc to do it. It’s a pinch when it happens but I wouldn’t call it particularly painful. I had more soreness when I bumped it while curling my hair afterward.

My mother never had her ears pierced. After I did my ears, she always admired my earrings. She didn’t like the clips because they hurt. For her birthday I took her to get her ears pierced. She was in her 50s.

We went to a jewelry place at our local mall. It was a Saturday afternoon and it was busy. There was one child around 6 ahead of her. The piercing was done out in the open. You sat in a chair and they used a gun to insert “starter” earrings in. Easy peasy. They used a numbing cream.

The little girl was so excited. It was wonderful to watch. She thought this transformed her into a “big” girl. I remember that feeling. I had it when I got my first baby “high” heel shoes. Oh yes, there was a crinoline petticoat that sent me over the moon too.

Then it was my mom’s turn. I saw her wince. It was a big wince. I had assured her that it didn’t hurt much. More like a pinch. She said it wasn’t a pinch. She was sure they were ripping her ear off. The worst part was she couldn’t yell. After that little girl took it so well my mom thought she’d look like a big baby if she wailed.

She picked out an expensive pair of earrings as her gift and muttered all the way home. After that whenever I asked if something hurt, she’d say, “just a pinch” with a twinkle in her eye.