Written in Ink: This One's for the Kids...

Piece: A panda bear hugging itself (or a ball?) with my children's names at the top and the bottom

Location: Right Chest

Memo to Myself: UGH! Big pictures of my naked chest will probably NOT promote the on-line following I'm looking for.

This was not my first tattoo(s?) but it is the one that I like the most. I remember going to the tattoo shop, Physical Graffiti, I believe, and wanting to get something cute with my kids name on it. When I first got tattoos, I'd try to convince myself that it was "okay" or "worth the money" by building up the idea in my mind that is was somehow "noble" to get the piece. What could be nicer than getting some ink with you kids' names?

To look at the piece now, I'm not sure why I chose a panda, except that the animal nature of the tattoo fits in with my others. It certainly hasn't aged well... like most of my ink it has faded, which strikes me as odd as I'm not a sunbather. It also looks a little sloppier than when originally "applied." I still love it nonetheless, and I'll always remeber how fascinated by it my daughter was when she was little and I first came home with it.

Two funny things about recieving this piece: 1) I remember how the artist was concerned that I was putting what appeared to be two guy's names on my chest. I reassured him that they were my kids, a boy and a girl, which seemed to make him feel better. 2)I decided to put it on the left side of my chest as opposed to the right (over my heart) because I was afraid that if I had a heart attack when I'm older it would get scarred.

For those of you just getting ink, its funny how much you remember about each piece and the experiences you have in collecting them. It never stops at one and always becomes a "collection"... for me the experiencs or memories are always events in which I made the decision (time, piece, and place) independently.

Breathe in, Breathe out... YOU AND I ARE ALIVE!