Fast forward to late morning; the children are dressed, their hair is combed, and we are all buckled into the van and driving to the mall to make some final back-to-school purchases.
As usual, I ask Lorelai, "Do you want to get your ears pierced?" More out of habit than anything; it's become custom. And she always answers with, "Maybe when I am 10" and then I say, "Okay" and we carry on with our day.
Today was different. After posing my standard question, Lorelai answered, "Maybe when I'm 5."
Right then and there I knew she was feeling courageous, and just a minute or so later she came back with, "Actually, I do want to get my ears pierced today."
Had it not been for the confidence in her voice I would have expected her to back out of it. But she didn't. She calmly picked out a pair of stud earrings and took a seat in the chair. One, two, three.... her ears were instantly adorned with small yellow jewels.
And the rest of the day sparkled.
