my firstborn is seven

we’ve been looking forward to this
since i came up with the idea that
she’d get her ears pierced at 7.
it’s at the age of seven that the muslim child
is encouraged to pray, citing the hadith that says:

The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) said: Command your children to pray when they become seven years old, and beat [i.e. discipline] them for it (prayer) when they become ten years old; and arrange their beds (to sleep) separately.

so, i wanted to make the occasion memorable,
and have the earrings
– usually just a form of adornment –
be a reminder to remember Allah.
so the moment actually came!

i wanted to get them done at a piercing place
with a needle instead of a gun,
but they didn’t have a piercer on duty.
we ended up going to piercing pagoda at pg plaza.

she chose gold heart earrings
– with a little guidance from mom –
and the piercer
– who had pink highlights –
put a dot where she thought the holes should be.
we made a little correction on that
and then pink-highlights
prepared the gun.

after a bismilLah,
the right ear was done
with sanaa letting out a quick surprised scream.
we had talked about how it would feel like a quick, sharp pinch,
but the reality became clearer at that moment.
she was hesitant,
but trying to be brave.
as the piercer approached the second ear, sanaa cringed,
but pink-highlights managed to pierce her left ear anyway.
the deed was done,
and we celebrated with an auntie anne’s soft pretzel
then returned home
to yellow birthday cake with strawberry icing.

the next day when sanaa woke up,
the heart-front of her left earring was in the sheets,
but the post and back was still attached.
i called piercing pagoda
and they said removed the back,
let it heal for a couple days and come back.

after trying to convince sanaa with words
to let me take the back and post out,
i finally had to sit on her to get it out.
she said she wasn’t going back to get it pierced.

a day later, she changed her mind.
that’s the courageous sanaa i know.

however, at the piercer three days or so later,
her tears began to flow at the sight of the gun.
we talked a bit to no avail.
this piercer
– a young lady who looked like she had the experience to back up her piercing skills –
tried to convince sanaa.
she claimed to have numbing cream
– actually hand-sanitizer –
to minimize the pain.
i was like: oh! i didn’t know y’all had that.
she gave me that knowing look of adults who talk above children’s understanding.
it made no difference to sanaa.
resigned to let sanaa get up to it in her own time,
we got up to leave.
then she made a u-turn
and sat in the chair with a resolve that totally took me by surprise.
professional-piercer moved toward sanaa,
but kept the piercing gun from her sight.
with all the emotion of trying to cajole and sway and reassure sanaa’s scared heart,
it was a bit anti-climactic when her ear was re-pierced with barely a whimper.

i pray she remembers this courage
when it comes time to pray fajr in the darkness of the early morning.
i pray she remembers this resolution of spirit
when it is time to pray thuhr or asr or maghrib or isha
and there are so many other things she wants to do or finish
rather than make time to remember Allah.