A couple of months after that picture was taken, we unexpectedly moved to Florida for my husband’s work. And I was anxious all over again, knowing I’d have to deal with judgment from other moms, as ear piercing in babies wasn’t the norm here. To my delight, I saw things had changed since my early childhood—maybe because the U.S. had become a much more international country. There were other babies wearing earrings! Not all of them, but some. Usually they were Latino, African American or Haitian. But I wasn’t alone, and I didn’t feel so barbaric after all.
