My friend Tracy got me a belly button ring for my 40th birthday. I thought about wearing it on spring break, but I’m having second thoughts. Should a mother of young daughters wear a belly button ring?
This past weekend, I was standing in the check-out line with Anna. I looked over, and to my horror she had picked up a magazine with semi-nude women, posing in their swims suits. (Actually, the woman in the picture appeared to have nothing on, and it was only after I looked twice that I realized she wasn’t completely naked.) This was the second time in a week that Anna has picked up an explicit magazine in public.
No, I’m not a prude. And I’m not a big fan of censorship. And I realize I need to watch my children more closely when we are out in public. But it’s not like I was in an adult bookstore or I was shopping on the wrong side of town.
Did I calmly explain to Anna that our bodies are not objects, and being naked really isn’t high fashion? Did I tell her that God created our bodies to be temples of the Holy Spirit? Not exactly. I ripped the magazine out of her hand and threw my own mini-tantrum right in the middle of the store and shouted, Put that magazine done right now! These pictures are disgusting!
I probably could have handled the situation better. It wasn’t really the pictures that bothered me. It was that Anna was so taken with them. My innocent first-grader couldn’t take her eyes off of these half-naked, voluptuous women.
Which brings me back to the belly button ring. Sure, it would be fun to wear on spring break (and Tracy really had the best of intentions). But I need to teach my girls that their bodies are not objects. Will they even take me seriously if I wear a belly button ring?
Maybe I’m over reacting. I leave for the beach tomorrow. Should I take my belly button ring with me or leave it at home? (By the way, it’s adhesive – Doug would freak out if I actually went through with a piercing.)
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