Making a decision :)
i am getting a tattoo. It's something I've wanted for a long time- I've been thinking about it since I was 18, but had never settled on really WHAT I wanted. Now i have more of an idea, and I'm ready. I'm so ready it's ridiculous. It's all I can do not to haul down to Inkslingers and scream "NOW".
But first, I suppose I should finalize the idea.
I'm having a bit of trouble in the final decision department. Honestly, any of the final contenders would be wonderful. But it's just DECIDING. I suck at deciding.
I want it to have something to do with the ocean. A friend of mine recently accused me of being "beachy" because it's trendy. I shrugged and said simply, whatever burps your turtle. But the truth of it is that the ocean has a very deep meaning for me, and if someone doesn't get that, then quite simply they can go screw themselves. Reggae is something I've listened to since my friend Megan's hippie parents introduced me to Bob Marley back in high school. I've lost track of how many copies of "Legend" I've owned in either tape or CD format.
Anyway- idea one is for three hibiscus flowers with a "splash" behind them. I want my tattoo to represent my children, because they're the most constant thing in my life. The flowers would each be a different color. However, the only reason I balk at this is because, simply, the whole "girl with pretty flower tattoo" thing. No matter how much it means to ME, I want to avoid the cliche.
Idea 2 has less to do with the water, but it's got everything to do with my life philosophy. Three little birds, likely with a wave design behind them. One of my favorite songs is "Three little birds" by Bob Marley:
"Rise up this mornin'
Smiled with the risin' sun
Three little birds
Pitch by my doorstep
Singin sweet songs
Of melodies pure and true
Sayin- "this is my message to you-ou-ou"
Singin' Don't worry 'bout a thing
Cause every little thing gonna be all right."
Boat go where boat go... and Every little thing, it's gonna be all right.
And then there is the last idea. It would be three dolphins in the waves. Now, part of the hesitance might be again- girls with dolphin tattoos, cheesy cheesy... but this actually might be a front runner. Back in October of 98, Eric and I took a cruise to Cozumel. At the time, we were about thisclose to divorce. It had been a hellacious year. We'd had and lost Kelley in January... I miscarried at the beginning of April... we'd both fallen into a terrible depression and were looking for comfort from anyone and anything OTHER than each other. Honestly, if we hadn't been so broke, I think we would have already split. We were just too poor to afford attorneys, and too stubborn to ask our parents for help. But we'd won this cruise through Schwans, so we headed off to the Caribbean. Our second evening on board, we were walking along the deck, when Eric spotted something out of the corner of his eye. He pulled me over, and there, playing in the wake of the ship, were several dolphins. They were leaping and diving and rolling, it was like something out of a Very Special Growing Pains episode. We stood there, watching them play, holding hands... and for the first time really in nine months, every thing WAS all right. The setting sun was warm on our faces, we were staring out into the beautiful, endless Caribbean sea,... and that was the moment I knew we would make it. Somehow, we'd make it. From that time on I know that *I* made the changes that I could to make us work. And we did. That's why, to me, the ocean is important, why it brings me such joy... because in a lot of ways it's like it saved my marriage.
So that's why the ocean HAS to play into my tattoo... because the primary components, be they hibiscus flowers, birds, or dolphins, will represent my children... but it's my marriage that holds it all together.
So- thoughts? Ideas? Feedback? Anyone? Anyone?
But first, I suppose I should finalize the idea.
I'm having a bit of trouble in the final decision department. Honestly, any of the final contenders would be wonderful. But it's just DECIDING. I suck at deciding.
I want it to have something to do with the ocean. A friend of mine recently accused me of being "beachy" because it's trendy. I shrugged and said simply, whatever burps your turtle. But the truth of it is that the ocean has a very deep meaning for me, and if someone doesn't get that, then quite simply they can go screw themselves. Reggae is something I've listened to since my friend Megan's hippie parents introduced me to Bob Marley back in high school. I've lost track of how many copies of "Legend" I've owned in either tape or CD format.
Anyway- idea one is for three hibiscus flowers with a "splash" behind them. I want my tattoo to represent my children, because they're the most constant thing in my life. The flowers would each be a different color. However, the only reason I balk at this is because, simply, the whole "girl with pretty flower tattoo" thing. No matter how much it means to ME, I want to avoid the cliche.
Idea 2 has less to do with the water, but it's got everything to do with my life philosophy. Three little birds, likely with a wave design behind them. One of my favorite songs is "Three little birds" by Bob Marley:
"Rise up this mornin'
Smiled with the risin' sun
Three little birds
Pitch by my doorstep
Singin sweet songs
Of melodies pure and true
Sayin- "this is my message to you-ou-ou"
Singin' Don't worry 'bout a thing
Cause every little thing gonna be all right."
Boat go where boat go... and Every little thing, it's gonna be all right.
And then there is the last idea. It would be three dolphins in the waves. Now, part of the hesitance might be again- girls with dolphin tattoos, cheesy cheesy... but this actually might be a front runner. Back in October of 98, Eric and I took a cruise to Cozumel. At the time, we were about thisclose to divorce. It had been a hellacious year. We'd had and lost Kelley in January... I miscarried at the beginning of April... we'd both fallen into a terrible depression and were looking for comfort from anyone and anything OTHER than each other. Honestly, if we hadn't been so broke, I think we would have already split. We were just too poor to afford attorneys, and too stubborn to ask our parents for help. But we'd won this cruise through Schwans, so we headed off to the Caribbean. Our second evening on board, we were walking along the deck, when Eric spotted something out of the corner of his eye. He pulled me over, and there, playing in the wake of the ship, were several dolphins. They were leaping and diving and rolling, it was like something out of a Very Special Growing Pains episode. We stood there, watching them play, holding hands... and for the first time really in nine months, every thing WAS all right. The setting sun was warm on our faces, we were staring out into the beautiful, endless Caribbean sea,... and that was the moment I knew we would make it. Somehow, we'd make it. From that time on I know that *I* made the changes that I could to make us work. And we did. That's why, to me, the ocean is important, why it brings me such joy... because in a lot of ways it's like it saved my marriage.
So that's why the ocean HAS to play into my tattoo... because the primary components, be they hibiscus flowers, birds, or dolphins, will represent my children... but it's my marriage that holds it all together.
So- thoughts? Ideas? Feedback? Anyone? Anyone?