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.
I had mine pierced when I was a freshman in high school. My Mom’s hairdresser did it… needle and ice. I don’t remember any pain. I did get an infection in both lobes from itching them while in biology class while messing with frog dissection. Ewww… never worried about anything back then… 1966.
Nice to read about you and your Mom… sweet memory. I didn’t get to comment on this the first time around. We were moving!
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I had mine pierced when I was in my 40s. I remember that “pinch” vividly!
I still keep studs in at all times to keep the holes open nicely. As I have aged, my lobes are looser and softer (aging skin) and it is harder to get the hole to line up properly for the post to go through.
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I wear earring a couple times a week to keep the holes open as it was getting more difficult to line up the tunnel. I thought it was just me! I have no memory of any discomfort and I had two sets pierced at different times, one by a doctor and one at a Piercing Pagoda type place.
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You can buy the studs, and I have several. The posts are a bit larger than those of regular earrings and they keep your holes expanded better. I wear them all the time.
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Cute story…….I remember VIVIDLY my ear-piercing experience. I went to a newly opened Mall (one of very few in the 80s) – I was 19 – brand new jewelry store. They sat me in a chair – no numbing stuff – and a young man with one of those scary looking “things” did my first ear and the gun got STUCK. It would not withdraw the “needle/nail/whatever” and he asked me to just hold the gun for him while he went to find someone to help. I forgot to mention the chair I was in was in the FRONT WINDOW of the store so mall shoppers were stopping to see the distressed girl in the chair holding the “gun” trying to smile…………..the two “gun advisors” the guy got had no idea what to do – so there were some unintentional tugs on the gun while they tried various things until it FINALLY let loose of my ear. Was I hesitant to have the second ear pierced with this THING? YOUBETCHA but I did it and it didn’t get stuck. Period. I love my pierced ears and have a big collection of earrings of all kinds. Would I do it again? Probably but knowing what I know how I’d make sure the danged gun worked properly AND I would refuse to sit in a window seat!!
Hugs, Pam
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Wow what a horrible experience Pam!!
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All these years later and I can still “feel the pain” !! LOL
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Oh I bet!!! I imagine it was horrible to let them do the other one.
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Oh my! My second set was done with a punch gun. My poor mother was in the open too so she had to try to look like a grownup.
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That is such a great story and a gem of a memory to have about your mom!
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My mom was a hoot. She was younger than her generation in many ways. I have a thousand stories.
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You have a few stories on the blog labeled Tess Tales. I just found them!
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Just a pinch! ~ Go Tess!
After getting my ears pierced, my only issue after they healed was that I had to wear solid gold posts to avoid infection. These days, I wear the same solid gold earrings and posts every day. Just small gold balls, nothing seasonal. One less decision to make in the mornings.
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Fortunately I didn’t have that issue but these days I rotate between 2 or 3 good quality earrings. I have 2 sets of holes but rarely use the upper ones.
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