Here is how I dealt with her very first step in becoming a big girl.
I caved.
She was a little more than three-years-old when she began asking mommy and daddy to get her ears pierced. I, being the paranoid father that I am, immediately saw this as opening the door to full make-up, revealing outfits, boys, and other things that are the worst nightmare to any father of a little girl.
I couldn't have been more against it. If you've read one of my earlier blogs, you know that I am not only a father without any previous training, I am also one of three boys who never experienced a little girl running around the house.
I'll put my foot down - my little girl will be growing up at my speed, not at light speed.
My wife, on the other hand, was all for it.
About a year passed. The issue came up again and again. No!
Our daughter's fifth birthday was near. No was still the answer. And "everyone else's daughter has them" still wasn't working for me.
Then I thought about it a little more.
Why don't I want my girl to get earrings? Because it is somehow inappropriate for such a young girl to have objects dangling from her lobes? Because it could lead to other "adultish" things? Because it makes me uncomfortable?
Or was this the real reason: Trying to grasp the present, make time stand still, and fully enjoy the time that she is so reliant on her daddy?
I have a feeling you know which one it is too.
She got her earrings for her fifth birthday, and she loved them.
But if anyone even mentions the word "tattoo"... well, daddy's going to put his foot down for real this time!
