When Stephanie was eight, she asked if she could have her ears pierced.  We said there were two conditions  she would have to meet to get pierced ears:  (1)  she would have to be at least 10 years old and (2)  she would have to learn to keep her room cleaner than it was.

 

This was the early 1980’s and we explained that little girls didn’t get their ears pierced this young.  We went on to reason that pierced ears take a lot of care and cleaning to prevent infection, so keeping her room clean would let us know that she was ready for keeping her ear-piercings clean.

 

That seemed okay to her.  Shortly after, we were attending a 50th wedding anniversary party.  Stephanie watched all the beautifully dressed ladies with their dangling earrings and began to master a plan.

 

During the reception she took a plastic fork, broke off the tongs, and taped them to her ears with office tape.  She had earrings! She felt glamorous and elegant! What problem-solving!