As promised, here is the story/explanation of my tattoo. (And you can lay off the jokes...I've heard them all!)
Earlier this year I started watching Miami Ink on Netflix. It's a fun show that I had seen a lot while Matt and I were dating and while I never had any personal desire for a tattoo it was interesting. I've never had an "issue" with tattoos, don't think they're morally wrong, I just never had the desire to put something permanently on my body. I remember asking Matt if he liked them and he said he likes bare skin just fine. For me, that was a good enough reason to not get one (I kinda thought if he DID like them maybe I'd get one for him). So back to this year, I watched all 6 seasons and seeing the amazing artwork that is possible now (tattoos aren't just naked women or anchors on crusty old sailors) I thought a tattoo would be cool but still wasn't serious as I didn't have anything of significance to get a tattoo of and didn't want to get one "just for fun". The thought of a "just for fun" tattoo scared me, I felt like to be sure I would be happy with something permanently on my body, the chances would be higher if it was something that had significance. So I kinda thought about what would have significance for me and the one idea I had was something related to Winnie the Pooh. Trust me, I got plenty of flak for that (my sisters still hate the fact that I have a "Pooh tattoo") but Winnie the Pooh has always been special to me. I took over/inherited my mom's WtP collection in high school and it's always been my favorite Disney character; was never into the Disney princesses. I knew I would want a Classic Pooh image and kinda settled on the "Poohsticks" scene because it was less an image of Pooh himself and more of a scenic image that just so happened to have him in it. Still, I thought "I'll never get it, the image itself doesn't have a REAL significance to my life and unless I knew ahead of time it would end up EXACTLY as I wanted, I would be too hesitant to go through with it". And that's when I found the quote....
"Rivers know this: there is no rush. We shall get there someday."
For a bear of very little brains, he sure has some wisdom! The quote doesn't specifically go with the image but the river in the image is a reminder to me of the quote. Now, why is that quote significant to me? You all know I am a fast-paced, energetic, impatient person. More specifically, this whole thing came together (the desire for a tattoo, the image, the quote) about 1 1/2 years into our trying to have a baby. As I mentioned in my last post, in April 2010, 2 months after we decided to stop preventing pregnancy, I had a miscarriage early on. While it was nice to know I COULD get pregnant, it was very frustrating to go throughout that next 15 months not getting pregnant and imagining what life would be like if I hadn't miscarried. Just as this whole tattoo idea came together I came to a greater peace about being patient in the process and letting God timing prevail (not that I could really do anything to change God's timing in getting pregnant, but I could change my attitude towards it). The quote would pop into my mind when I would think with frustration on how another birthday was going by without having a baby, when I would hear of another friend that was expecting, or something else that would bring to light the fact that we were STILL trying. But still, I was so nervous about finding the right artist, the sizing, placement, etc. I figured I'd never go through with it.
Then one day my uncle called me and asked if I would go with him when he went to get a tattoo of my grandma who passed away early last year. I thought it'd be interesting and knew it'd mean a lot to him (I was always his favorite niece). Just on a whim I decided to take the picture of "Poohsticks" to get an actual tattoo artist's opinion on it. I thought to get the detail it'd have to be bigger and I didn't want it big, didn't know how well it would translate into a tattoo, how much it would potentially cost, how long it would take, basically I was clueless. Once there, I showed my uncle's tattoo artist the image and he asked another artist who wasn't busy what she thought. Her face lit up when I showed it to her. She talked about how she has all her Winnie the Pooh books from her child with all her own doodles all over the pages and that she would LOVE to do that as a tattoo. She gave me a price (which was way less than I expected) and said she could fit me in right then if I wanted, otherwise I might not get in for another month or so. I wasn't going to do anything without Matt's input so I called him...waited for an hour for him to call back, and he said I could go for it (ok, so there was a lot more to the conversation than that and a lot more going on in my head before coming to that conclusion). As soon as I said I would go for it, I expected to be freaked out, but I was super calm and confident in the decision!
The tattoo itself took about 2 1/2 hours including the 40 minutes of break we took. Would have been less but, not planning on getting a tattoo and being there so late, I didn't eat and I passed out with about 20 min. left to go. In talking with my artists, she told me that she actually was a children's book illustrator before going into tattooing! I know it sounds silly but I feel God just lined it all up for me. So many things could have stopped me that day, but I'm so happy with how it turned out (I have had multiple people tell me it looks fake because it's so colorful or that it looks like I just taped a page from the book on my shoulder). 3 weeks later, I have not a single twinge of regret and fall in love with it even more every time I look at it in the mirror.
And God has such a sense of humor! I guess me being serious enough about waiting on His timing to permanently put a reminder on my body was all it took! (jk of course). I got my tattoo on a Tuesday and found out I was pregnant that Saturday!!! And honestly, it just makes the tattoo that much more significant because it's now a reminder of this week in my life when I was finally letting go of this desire that I held onto so tightly and also when God gave me that desire.
So there you have it...if you have problems with it or negative opinions, I hold nothing against you for having them but to be honest, there's no point in sharing those with me because what's done is done, the people that have the most weight in my life were consulted prior to my decision and I am at peace with my decision. You can choose to appreciate the beauty of the art itself and/or rejoice in the fact that it's a reminder to me of God's faithfulness in something that has been my heart's desire for as long as I can remember or not.
In process, this is with partial outlining done
Immediately after it was done. Minimal redness and swelling, a sign of a good artist!
No comments:
Post a Comment