The Ending of an Era

After job after job after job of not being able to wear my nose ring, and usually forgetting to put it back in on the weekends, I have decided to say goodbye to my old friend. The nose ring is gone.

I got my nose pierced in my first, true, rebellious moment after moving out my parents house when I was 19. My folks were going to the Oregon coast for vacation so off to Red's Trading Post I went, thinking an extra hole in my body was a good idea. I was a brave little girl and didn't even cry. I even got a cherry flavored sucker afterwards for being so brave (not really, but that's what I'm saying here since I was only 19 at the time).

In the following weeks and months and years, people asked me if I paid money for my shiney buger, if I had a bug on my nose, if I had a cattle ring to switch it out with... I heard it all. But through all the teasing and jokes, I really enjoyed having my nose pierced. The rest of the hols I decided to put in my body in the yearrs since, not so much, but the nose I liked.

Recently, however, I've not been wearing it as much. I can't wear it to work (reasonable) and I rarely remember to put it back in once I get home and on the weekends. When I do remember to wear it, it makes me nose swell up form the lack of wearing and it just became a big hassle. After a few weeks in personal debate, I decided that I would lose the nose ring. I've had it for nine years, so being without it is somewhat weird. I use to wonder if I would wear it for my wedding, and when I became a mom, or this or that, but it just became a part of me and I never even considered how long I would actually keep it.

I feel like I'm saying goodbye to perhaps the last part of the rebellious, teenage child-like demeanor and moving onto the grown-up, professional part of my life. Drew even feels weird about me not having it- as he's only known me with it in. I think I'm pretty much done with adding extra jewels to my body, but a tatoo still might make an appearance someday... Only time will tell.