Sailors and Bikers
What tattoo do you want and where would you put it?
Permanent Ink
Tattoos have become a phenomenon of addiction. Back in the day, primarily there were two groups of people (mostly men) who had tattoos, “Sailors and Bikers”.
In today’s world, everyone has tattoos. It’s more rare to see someone without a tattoo than with them.
Trust me, I’m not casting stones. I love seeing artfully crafted tattoos.
Addiction
The problem is the addiction. The addiction drives people to get tattoos without thought or purpose.
They get some extra cash and drive down to the local tattoo shop and scan through the sample book without much thought or meaning.
I believe if you are putting permanent ink on your body, it should have a thoughtful meaning, at least to you. Even if it’s Donald Duck or a butterfly.
How many butterflies are there, anyway?
Placement
As much as it should have meaning, there should be a thought process of the location as well.
No matter how artistic the ink master is or how lovely the meaning. You wouldn’t get scroll lettering of “Mom” as a tramp stamp. Placement is an important factor.
Pain
I am curious, is the addiction driven by the pain? Or is it despite the pain? Back to placement, the closer to a boney area the more painful it is.
I’m not an addict
I’m not an addict and I don’t like pain much. But I do have two tattoos and am contemplating a third.
The first tattoo was when my son was about seven years old.
It only took me seven years thinking about it and planning the design. It’s a simple design, but it’s meaningful (at least to me).
The Meaning
I have known I wanted to have a child since I was a child. It took two years of regular practice to finally become pregnant.
I so wanted a little baby boy, but God had other plans for me, or so I thought. I had two separate ultrasounds that said I was going to have a little girl.
I was bummed, but accepted the miracle God had given me.
Fast forward to forty-two weeks. I was two weeks overdue and the day before I was to be induced I went into labor.
After thirteen hours of labor, I had to have an emergency c-section to save my baby. His head was stuck, and I went into shock. My husband asked if everything was okay. At that very moment, with a suction sound, the doctor got his head released. W found out that our prayers for little boy were answered.
The doctor said “HE is perfect”.
In that moment, in that split second, I pounced on the opportunity to name our son after my husband (something my husband said he didn’t want, while we were picking names). He said he didn’t want to “stick our son with his name”. I thought it was ridiculous but marriage is a compromise.
A compromise until your guts are hanging out. My husband would give his wife anything she wanted, when she had most of her inners lying on her chest.
First Tattoo
I always say “My boys” while talking about my husband and son. My husband, Andy and my son AJ (junior) are my whole life. They are my squared A.
My second tattoo took equally long to mull over and has equal meaning to me. My husband, who is my personal hero is retired law enforcement. I am incredibly proud of him as a person and as a law enforcement officer. When we were traveling in our bus, were in Mesa, Arizona for the winter. I found a great tattoo shop in the “Largest Harley Dealer in the World” where I had it touched up by “Fifth Finger Tattoo“.
Planning my Third
I recently became a grandmother (Mema). I never knew exactly how much being a grandmother would affect me. My love for her is like no other love. Addi is absolutely beautiful and makes my heart happy.
About The Author
