Today we visited our new friends, Lori, John and Alana. (Hi guys!) Lori and I are both teaching art at our homeschool group this year, and we needed to do some serious planning and supply shopping for the year ahead. Our kids got along wonderfully, and Alana gave Eli some stick-on gems…little sparkly bits that girls wear as earrings or fingernail accessories. Eli insisted on wearing a blue one on one earlobe, like an earring.
That would’ve never happened if his father was with us at the time, but personally, I’m just not going to make a big deal out of stuff like that. So we went grocery shopping afterward, and Zach was just MORTIFIED that I let his brother go into the store like that. I had to threaten Zach with the loss of his Xbox to get him to stop moaning on and ON about how embarrassed he was. For Pete’s sake, the gem was small and Eli’s hair kind of curls around his ears. I didn’t think anyone would notice it.
Well, there were a couple of younger men working there, from another ethnic group, who had rather large “diamond” studs in their ears. And they thought Eli was the coolest thing ever. We kept running into them and they were calling him “Little Man” and complimenting his earring. Eli was all puffed up with this “Oh yeah, I’m so cool!” air about him while Zach just walked around with his jaw agape, not believing that his brother was getting positive attention for having stuck a little girl’s gemstone sticker on his earlobe.
Maybe you had to be there, but I thought it was hilarious!
Of course, later in the car, when Eli asked when he could get a REAL earring, I told him that when he’s 21 and/or no longer living in our house, it would be his choice. Until then…I don’t think so!