Birthday Blues

My dearest Sproutlette turned eight last week.  She was excited to have a celebration with friends - no little brothers to bother them, and to stay up late for that celebration.  The time with friends was great.  JK was distracted by Nana for a bit after school, then his Papa kept him busy and out of the girls' hair with a new Lego to build together (major bonding time for them).

Fi had four hours of time where she was pampered with two friends.  She was very happy.

So, where do the blues come in?

At bedtime I was combing out her hair to tie up for bed.  Guess who was back?

Grrrrr!

Half an hour of painstaking combing and squishing later she was sent to bed.  And she got to dream about the fun of having her head treated again the next day instead of focusing on getting her ears pierced (which she had requested for her birthday).

Saturday morning she and I fluffed and puffed and got ready for a mother-daughter day in town (with a visit to the drug store added to the list).  We arrived at the aesthetician first thing, planning to make a piercing appointment and then do the other errands.  There was a slot so we went right in.

Forty-five minutes later we left.  No earrings.  Fi was in tears.  I was trying not to cry as well.  Both of us were frustrated.  Fi had second thoughts, then third... then tenth thoughts in the salon and we never got far enough to get beyond black marker dots on her ear lobes.  Not a great start to the day. 

It felt like her birthday was a bust.  There went her present and our bonding time together.  Because, face it, groceries is really not a bonding activity.  We did have a nice lunch out, though, so all was not lost.

The week has perked up since then.  And we have decided that we will wait another year (or three) for earrings.  Now to find a great late present...