I have to say, if I'm going to have something permanently inked onto my body? I'm going to have to like it one hell of a lot.
I have a lot of friends who have them... some of them are beautiful, some are intensely personal (symbols, words, verses, even the handwriting of someone special), and some are... well... let's just say that some are pictures I wouldn't want plastered all over my butt.
I've seen quite a few, really, that have made me scratch my head. Once, when I was camping, I saw the NASCAR logo, in all its brilliant colors, tattooed on a woman's leg.
And it was BIG.
Whatever floats your boat, eh? Or, you know, drives your car...
And once? I saw hands tattooed around a woman's neck - they looked like they were strangling her. That one? I did not understand. At. All. (And I was a little askeerd to ask about it, as she looked like maybe she could strangle me.)
But I'm amazed by some of the originality in some I see - and the thought and sentimentality behind them.
Ryan likes tattoos, too. She has a whole board on Pinterest dedicated to ones she likes. And that's fine. I wouldn't let her get one now, certainly. And though I know she might want one as soon as she turns 18, I've asked her to please, please, please understand that her taste at 18 and her taste at 30 will be completely different (hello! Have you seen the glasses I wore when I was 18?)... and that her taste at 50 will be different from her taste at 30 (remember the 90s?). I've told her that, right or wrong, employers in many, many fields frown on visible ink, and I've asked her to consider the fact that a tattoo that looks good when she's wearing a bikini may not look nearly so nice when she's wearing an all-dressed-up outfit (or a wedding dress).
And I'll keep reminding of her those things...
A lot.
Regret is a painful thing.
I know quite a few people who regret theirs. I feel bad for them.
I know a lot of people who say, "Never. Not me!"
I get that. It's a trend, after all... albeit a growing one... but one that will, eventually, become unpopular, as all trends do. By then, nursing homes are going to be full of some very colorful (literally) old folk!
Still, I've considered getting one. Seriously considered it. For several years. Just a small one, on my wrist (I want to be able to see it, as if I can't see it, I don't see the point in having it). Something meaningful. But I've wondered if what's meaningful to me today will be meaningful to me at 60. Honestly, I figure it probably will be. I mean, it's not as if I'm 18 anymore (lord knows I'm not 18 anymore). And then I've wondered if I'll even give a hoot when I'm 60 (or, you know, even be able to see) what small thing is tattooed on my wrist.
Then? The time I spent in the hospital in the spring (and the blood work I have to have done regularly now) nearly cured me of the thought...
I don't like being stuck.
Needles? Suck.
But then, after a while, I started to think about it again...
I'm thinking about it now...
Just a small one. On my wrist. Something meaningful. Something simple.
Yeah... I'm thinking about it...
3 comments:
I have six now. I am fascinated by them as well. Like your daughter, I have a Pintrest page dedicated to them. I too ask strangers about theirs. I identify my self as a tattoo freak and ask for a closer look. Sometimes I ask where they got them (always on the hunt for a good artist) and sometimes they tell me a story about why they got a particular one.
When I show them one of mine, there is often a change in the rapport. It could be a bond - like motorcycle riders have instantaneously (on some level). I had a bike too.
They are art. Good art, bad art, regrets, memories and just for fun. They all have some story - even a little one. Most of us tell stories or want to hear them. Most of us partake in art in all its eclectic forms. We are walking around in canvas suits. I say put art on it. I say express yourself.
If you live to be 80 or 90 or older, I'm sure you will feel lucky yo be alive - I will. I won't care if my tattoos are pretty anymore. I will be all wrinkly and shit anyway. I will be sporting some art though. I will be sporting some stories and some memories too.
I say do it. Get a tattoo. Get it where no one can see it but you or where the whole world can and it compels them to ask you: "Hey, can I see your tattoo..."
1-Cori and I were thinking of getting matching ones on our fingers. Not visible, between our fingers. It would be white ink and say, "Sidder."
2-Diabetics probably aren't the best candidates for tattoos, although I'm sure many have them (including my step-brother).
3-Jonas wanted me to get a tattoo over the scar on my back. That's when we thought it would close all the way and resemble a line and not be an inch deep, 3-inch tall, 9-inch long jagged thing that is its own "art" on my upper back. Although if I got little lines tattooed all the way around it, it might look like a gigantic paramecium with cilia.
I had wanted a tattoo for years, but it had to be meaningful. Finally, this past year, when I turned 64 (and figured -- Hey. How much time do I really have to regret this anyway?) I got a beautiful hummingbird on my right shoulder. I wrote about it in "Getting Our Wings." I absolutely love it! http://injaynesworld.blogspot.com/2013/05/injaynesworld-we-are-getting-our-wings.html
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