Courage to Try and Try Again

Morgan has wanted to get her ears pierced for a long time. Every little girl she would see with earrings, she would point out to me. She felt like she was the last girl on earth without holes in her ears.

When we visited Brittany this summer, she told Morgan she would take her to the mall the next time we came. As we were packing to leave for Logan, Morgan wondered if Brit remembered that "promise" she had made. 

Scott and I left the kids with Brit on Saturday morning to make a quick run to Smith & Edwards. (Scott can't be that close and not go there!) As we were heading back to Logan, Brit started texting me to let me know they were at the mall and Morgan did in fact want to get her ears pierced. After going back and forth for about 20 minutes I finally said, "If she really wants to do it then fine."

It's not that I didn't want her to have her ears pierced. It's just that I have taken this girl to get flu shots and stuff. She has BIG anxiety when it comes to the unknown and especially needles or anything she thinks may be painful. We've been working on overcoming some of her anxiety and I wasn't sure she was ready for this.

We made it to the mall and signed the paperwork. They had shown her how it's done using a teadybear and talked her through the process. We had to wait for the 2nd employee to get there so they could do both at the same time. We were finally ready!

The ears were cleaned. The purple dots were made. The guns were loaded. And....

Sweet Morgan FREAKED out. Finally the lady said this had to be Morgan's choice and if she didn't want to do it she could wait. We walked out of the store and towards the door but I knew if Morgan didn't do this now she would be devastated. I knew she would cry all the way home about the missed opportunity. I knew she would put herself down for not being brave enough.

Suddenly it was not about earrings. Now it was about overcoming fear and building self-esteem. We were all talking to her, trying to convince her to do it. She just wanted to see it being done on a real person first.

We walked back to the store to ask if we could try again. Another little girl had come to get her ears done as well. Yay! We stood and watched the entire process and I signed the papers again. When the other girl was done Morgan looked at me like, "That's it?" She was ready.

Brit held her on her lap and I held both her hands and reminded her to breathe. She said OWIE before they even did anything and then, click, it was done. That easy.

Tears rolled down her cheeks and she shouted, "I did it! I really did it!" It was a LONG 2 hours in the mall but it was worth it.

Sometimes in life, we have to have the courage to try, and then try again.