Part 5: Tattoos Before the Boat Life! The Watercolor Lotus
How Tattoo #5 came about (really these posts are just as much stories about my life and a lot of me oversharing... the tattoos just gives me a place to focus my attention, for as much as I am capable of focusing on any one thing.)
Okay, so it had been about 5ish years since my P!nk-inspired tattoos. I hadn’t gotten any new ones because, well, we were broke. Barely getting by. The last thing I had funds for was more body art, no matter how bad I wanted it. Besides, I was dealing with some health issues and a sudden massive weight gain, I really didn't leave the house if I didn't have to and I sure as hell wasn't in the mood to get body art that would make people look at me more.
Then the year of chaos happened. The kids were old enough for me to leave the house for a good part of the day and work, so I got a job. My husband was working two jobs and we were finally getting out of the decades long stifling financial stress. Then, in the midst of us getting our collective financial shit together, my mother in law passed away.
After taking care of his mother (she had a stroke just before Christmas and was bedridden until she passed away about a week and a half later), and then his mother’s estate, we inherited some money.
After being damn near the poverty line for most of our marriage, with the influx of some money, we made some stupid choices, some good choices and learned some lessons. In the midst of that, one of the small, but good, choices was that Patrick bought me a gift card for tattoos for my birthday (or our 22nd anniversary, or both!).
This man is pretty damn good to me, btw. You can't see it here because I'm kissing his face, but he's pretty nice to look at, too ;)
At the time, we had no plans to leave, and I have an aversion to leaving the house or doing pretty much anything for myself... So the gift card sat there. For months.
THEN we suddenly decided to leave land for a while and go live on a sailboat (both a very good and not so smart decision to make quickly, but probably a decision that I’d almost make again! It was an amazing experience and a somewhat traumatizing experience as well).
Holy balls, I’m getting off topic.
ANYWAY, I had just a few months to get all of my tattoos done and because the designs I had in mind were relatively simple, I had enough money to get about 4 tattoos.
My first tattoo was a lotus flower with some watercolor in the design. I stupidly decided to get it on my foot. Mostly because I was still dealing with some significant body issues since the weight gain several years ago, but also because I'd always loved foot tattoos. I thought I was being clever, because since I rarely wear anything other than sandals/flip flips, it would be a spot that wasn't always covered up!
I wasn't thinking it through, though. The most detailed, fine line tattoo I have and I decided to get it on my FOOT. I do not advise this route. The first tattoo I’d had in five years, I guess I just wasn’t thinking right. Anyway, the upside is I got to find out that my language was well suited to a sailor. So did my 17 year old daughter who went with me that day. At least it wasn’t half as bad as the nipple piercing day (OMG, TMI!!!)
Seriously, though. I don't think I've ever cursed that much, and I have a potty mouth. That was the most painful tattoo I've ever gotten and I think I may have learned some new profanity just from the experience itself!
So, that’s about as exciting as that story gets. Unlike a couple of my previous stories and unlike the stories coming up, I seriously just picked this tattoo because I’ve always loved the design. I did look up the meanings and all that as well, but other than hoping that it didn’t actually make me more fertile, I honestly just chose it because this flower really just always made me feel all happy.
More About Me:
My #introduceyourself post
My First Tattoo (and other stupid decisions)
Tattoo #2: The Other Side of Married Life
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STOPHello @byn,
That's a really sweet and loving gift to receive from your husband. Younger folks in my age range are still splurging on things that we essentially can't afford, and it's refreshing to know about your story and how you worked hard to pay for needs and priorities.
I would be scared of huge storms, and being the person that always gets carsick doesn't make me the best candidate to live out at sea. I'm imagining you as a pirate now xD
Good heads up on not getting a foot tattoo, even if it looks alluring and beautiful! Since constantly walking puts pressure on the feet it is right up there with ribs when it comes to painful choices. I have a tattoo myself, but that's a story for next time.
Thank you for gracing us with an excellent post!
@shello
Thank you so much! The ocean adventure was a challenge for me because I had never been on a boat before and I get SO motion sick, it is crazy... but we were definitely at the point in our lives where we were ready for another adventure!
Thanks for the challenge!
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