Tattoo's and parenting don't mix , and other bullshit you may have heard. . .

When I was a little girl , I remember the first time I saw someone with tattoo's.  I was fascinated . Her was this dude with a picture of a pretty lady IN his skin ! I wanted to know how in the world you do that ! Before I could ask him My mother whisked me away and told me that getting tattooed was something trashy people did , and that she wasn't raising trash, she was raising a lady. I tried hard to be a lady , but I was mesmerized . Whenever we were out in public and I saw someone with ink, I couldn't help but stare. To me they were beautiful. I just couldn't understand what made them " trashy" .  Before I knew it drawing " tattoo's " on B.S. , and on myself with a bic pen became one of my favorite hobbies . Scrubbing it all off with rubbing alcohol before church became a weekly ritual , as well. My newfound secret dream, though I didn't know what they were called yet , was to be a tattoo artist when I grew up . I dared not tell anyone .
I spent an extraordinary amount of time dreaming up all the tattoos I was going to get once I was old enough . I was in my twenties before tattooing became legal in the state of Oklahoma ( traveling to Texas like so many others did was not an option for me) which is probably good because it saved me from making a LOT of permenant mistakes. For instance, I used to swear I was going to get a care bear with a pot leaf on its belly tattooed on one ass cheek , and ' Xavier Roberts' autograph tattooed on the other like a cabbage patch doll because I thought it would be funny.  Words cannot express how grateful I am for the fact I do not have to explain either one of the aforementioned tattoos to my hubby , lol !
That said, despite tattoo parlors being illegal at the time , my desire to be inked was so strong that I went out while I was still very under aged , and got my first tattoo . It was done in a friends basement up in Enoch , Ok , with a homemade gun that prominently featured an e-string that had been borrowed from an obliging guitar . It was supposed to be a sacred heart , but it ended up looking like more of a sad and wilted turnip. Eventually, when tattooing became legalized in the state , and I had the time and money , I was able to go get it fixed and now it is beautiful. Once that was squared away , I began to add to my collection. The first thing I did was get a couple of wrist tats. I am a survivor of 13 failed suicide attempts , and very glad they failed, but as someone who deals with depression from time to time , I would find myself  staring at the scars and thinking things I knew weren't good for me . So I chose two verses from the Bible, that I knew would help me climb out of that pit of depression if I should find myself at the bottom of it again. Philippians 4:13 and James 4:10 , I became very attached to them during my step study at celebrate recovery , they are respectfully , " I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" and " humble yourself before The Lord, and he will lift you up ".  They have already helped me through a few tough times.
The funny thing about tattoos though , they are very much like lays potato chips , you can't get just one ! So before long , I found myself back at the tattoo parlor, in the chair getting work done by Sam , the badass lady tattoo artist whom I LOVE . I had struggled with what it should be for months ! Ultimately , I chose a circular " Sheheyanu" in Hebrew . A subtle nod to my dads side of things , but mostly a way to unite my hubby and Wednesday in one tat. I said that blessing over her the day she was born, and over him the day we married , and every time I see it I well back up with gratitude that they are both in my life and I in theirs .
Sadly, this doesn't mean that everyone else in the world doesn't feel the need to chime in on them. The Hebrew seems to be the ne that garners the most attention. I have been accused of  being a terrorist with " Muslim language" on my arm ( the people who accused me of this apparently weren't intelligent enough to understand that Muslim isn't a language , so I let it slide n account of their pure and un adulterated idiocy ) , others have assumed that it is Sanskrit . My personal favorite though is still the voldemart associate that thought it was the elvish inscription from The Lord of the rings .  I aspire to such incredible nerd-hood, but I haven't quite reached it yet .
One thing I wasn't ready for though , was the judgement I get in public when I am out with my daughter . The looks that say " geez, they'll let anyone have kids these days won't they ?" Or " what n earth is SHE doing raising a child ?" Tattoos are my jewelry , and they have about as much to do with my ability to raise my child as that K-Mart necklace does with yours , K ? My daughter is a little creepy at times, I will give you that. But generally , she is a well rounded, open minded loving and intelligent little creature , and she is that way because I have poured blood sweat and tears into her every day of her life . I have worked 18 hour shifts to put food on the table and still gone hungry myself so that she could eat . I have gone without work shoes or a winter coat for myself , so that I would have the money to get her boots and a coat instead . When you love someone and you are responsible for them, those are just the sacrifices you make. I have dne the all night throw up marathons and still managed to keep my compassion, I have had more date nights with my hubby canceled due to lack of babysitting and an ill child than I can shake a stick at . But that's what I signed on for when I had her , it's in the mom contract , and she is totally worth it .  And that little girl doesn't give a damn that Mommas got a litte ink . But she does give a damn that I am at  every soccer game, recital, program, graduation, and there for every Obie, every nightmare etc. and most intranet of all, she knows that as long as there is breath in my body , I always will be. Not please tell me where the ink on my skin has any effect on that ?

It doesn't. Will I get more tattoos ? Hell yes.  Will they effect my ability to be a good mom and a good person ? Not in the slightest.

Not that it matters, but I still wish I was a tattoo artist :-)