Tattoo You (or, ME for that matter)

Until I turned 40, my body was free of tattoos. The only mark I had on my body was a big old scar on the inside of my left ankle. (that's a whole 'nother blog) And, then, all of a sudden, I turned 40 and started my mid-life crisis. (In case you are wondering, it's still going...)

The hardest part to me was deciding what I wanted. Obviously no names. (I'm divorced twice, so I didn't trust names!) I'm not the "MOM" kind of tattoo person. And, as much as I love pin up girls, I didn't think I was the right canvas. So, I had to think of what meant a lot to me. When I did that, it was a no brainer---I'm a huge Dave Matthews fan, so I started to think along those lines. (again, my obsession with Dave is a blog waiting to happen) I finally decided on the Fire Dancer; a sketch by Dave himself. I had it put on my upper right shoulder. Mel asked me if it hurt. This one didn't hurt. I was so excited to have it done, and I felt so bold. I love it to this day. It will always remind me of my decision to live my life rather than watch it pass me by.

Once I had a tattoo, the bug bit me. Everyone says once you get one, you want another. So true! It wasn't long after my first one that I had to have another. I didn't think this one out as much, and thus came up with a design that really didn't mean much to me. I have this one on my lower back (also known to some as the "tramp stamp" ) Mel, THIS ONE HURT. It didn't take as long as my first tattoo, but yowza mama, it hurt. Again, I felt very bold for getting a tattoo, but I don't like this one anymore. It's not centered properly, I don't have an emotional attachment to it, and I wish I had something else there. I do like the swirls. Ah, looking at this picture, it's not all that bad. :-)

And, then, last summer, I got my third tattoo. We were in St. Louis and I went with my good friend, Rose, her daughter, my daughter, and their friends. We went to an old tattoo shop in St. Louis and an old man tattooed the back of my neck. It only took about 10 minutes and didn't even make me blink Mel! And, I LOVE this one. It speaks for me. Most people see it as what I intended, a sign of PEACE. I've only had one misinterpretation: a four year old boy asked me, "Why you got that steering wheel on the back of your neck?"