Ink

I’m not sure when I decided I wanted a tattoo, but once I did that’s all I could think about.

Months were spent perusing websites and library books looking for just the right design. I knew I wanted something Celtic, a nod to my heritage. Each element was significant, as were each color. (And no, I’m not telling what they mean.)

When I got that first tattoo, I was still a little ambivalent about getting permanent ink so it was small… about the size of a silver dollar.

I loved it, and the Mister, who was a lot ambivalent about me getting inked, liked it. I also knew, even before I got home, I wanted another one.

That was 12 years ago…

This time I took my daughter to photograph my adventure. She as only ten the last time, highly inappropriate to take an adolescent into a tattoo parlor.

I did my research again, piecing together something that would be equally meaningful to me.

There was a quote I wanted to incorporate, one that has always been significant, especially these last couple of years.

“What does not kill me, makes me stronger.” ~ Friedrich Nietzsche

I wanted to keep with the Celtic theme and had that quote translated into Gaelic.

“An rud nach maraíonn mé, neartaíonn sé mé”

(If you are fluent in Gaelic, and I got this wrong somehow, please keep it to yourself…. kaithnx)

To get this to fit around the existing tat, the artist I was working with recommended we enlarge it so the font fit better and still be legible. He also touched up the color on my old tat so it blended in better with the new section.

I was fine with that…

The staff and tattoo artist I worked with were awesome. They listened to what I wanted and made it happen. I could not be happier with the results.