"YOU Have A Tattoo?"

"YOU Have A Tattoo?"

Forget what you think you know about tattoos for just a minute...

"YOU have a tattoo?" I can't tell you how many times I've heard this question with an incredulous tone in the last fifteen years. Wait...FIFTEEN YEARS?  Yeah, that's right, I said FIFTEEN YEARS!  I had my first tattoo done when I was in my mid twenties.  Yeah, yeah, yeah...a lady never says how old she is.  I'm 39 and proud.  It's just a number.  Moving on...

I'm just going to put this out there...

The stigma of the lower back tattoo is narrow-minded.  For those who prefer to call it a tramp stamp, more power to you.  I've been married for TWENTY years to the same man I started dating at sixteen.  If that makes me a tramp, well... *shrugs*  My first tattoo was done for the same reason as my second tattoo.  FOR ME.  

Whoa.  Wait a minute. What did she say...

*GASP* For ME? I walked into the tattoo studio completely sober, aware of my surroundings, after contemplating what I wanted for months (two years on the second one). Then I sat down and talked with the artist who listened to me describe what I wanted and started drawing.  Right there.  While I spoke. I didn't put it on my lower back because it was a fad. I did it because it was there for ME.  It rarely showed, I wasn't having one done to prove a point, and I didn't care if anyone else ever saw it.  I. Did. It. For. Me.  I was 24 years old, a wife and mother, and I wanted one little thing that was purely for my own sense of self-expression and individuality.  It was vines, roses, and a blue butterfly that reminds me of Absolem (after he hatches from his cocoon) from Alice in Wonderland. I'm a Wonderland fiend, and it's very symbolic.  

Fast forward 15 years...

I spent about two years contemplating adding to my tattoo.  I have NEVER regretted my first tattoo, and I really wanted to add to it.  I've evolved a great deal over the last couple of years, and I really wanted to find an artistic way to express that.  Again...for ME.  I know all of the super conservatives may be thinking, "But what about Wes?  You're married!  What does HE think?"  I'll answer that for you right now.  He. Does. Not. Care.  He says it is MY body, that he doesn't have an opinion one way or the other, and that if it's really what I want, then that's for me to decide.   I realize that might be unpopular in some circles, but that's honestly what he said.  I'm not harming myself, I'm expressing myself in my own way.   

For those curious why I chose the tattoo I did...

I worked with a VERY talented artist here in Arkansas.  I spent an hour talking to her about what I wanted, showing her ideas, and explaining why it was important to me.  She took those thoughts and ran with them, and she created a beautiful piece of art...and...I. Love. It.  

Yeah, that's right, I love it...

I'm an avid reader. Although I work in the indie publishing industry, I've been passionate about books since I was a child. My aunt Julia worked at a library, and she always gave us books at Christmas.  Those books, along with Scholastic school flyers, fostered my passion for reading.  Books are not only my career, but they are also my passion...since childhood.  I chose the books I did based on their influence in my earlier years of reading. 

It wasn't impulsive, random, or chosen from a picture on the wall...

The lamp post represents Narnia and the lamp post that grew in the newly formed Narnia in the book The Magician's Nephew and The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.  The subsequent signs speak for themselves and all represent books that were the foundation of my passion.  It was SO hard to choose which signs to add, but I spent a lot of time thinking about what to add.  Yelicia added her artistic flair to it, and I'm so happy with the end result.  It feels like ME, and that's all that it's about.  After 21+ years of being a wife and mom, it's completely acceptable for me to have something that defines me, that brings me happiness, and that represents a journey that brought me to where I am today.

Don't make assumptions...

I am NOT ashamed or embarrassed to show my tattoo.  Although asked, I did not show it to anyone during our Thanksgiving trip.  Large tattoos are not pretty when they are healing, and I wasn't ready to show it then aside from providing the picture taken at the studio.  Ask me the next time you see me.  I might let you see it...if I'm in the right mood. *wink* Questions don't offend me.  I'm completely confident about my decision, and I'm happy to explain it.  All I ask is that you don't judge me based on your own preferences.  I'm happy with the decision I made.

For those curious...

Yes, it hurt. A lot. It's on my SPINE, after all.  But so does childbirth and seven abdominal surgeries.  This was a journey.  It took 3 sessions for a total of 7.5 hours to complete my tattoo.  Yelicia incorporated it with my first tattoo and she blended it so that it's cohesive and, in my opinion, so beautiful. It was worth the pain.

So basically....

It's ME.  It makes me happy.  I love it.  So if you don't understand, that's absolutely okay.  You don't have to.  

It's mine.  And I love it.

This was immediately after my tattoo was finished.  

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