I have piercings, including two facial piercings, but if I ever reach a point in my old age where I feel like I look ridiculous I will be able to just take them out and only have almost invisible white dots left. Not a big deal. (I really hope that day never comes...I'd love to be 80 and still rockin the lip ring!)
I thought about getting my dogs face tattooed on me after he died last year, his image is one I would always like to carry with me and it would certainly have a lot of meaning behind it but can I really be that girl with the pit bull tattoo....sadly, I think not. I have a different idea for a tattoo to honor my sweet pup but that's still in the works.
Right now I am thinking (really just contemplating) about the possibility of getting a (in)fertility related tattoo. It definitely has meaning and regardless of whether I ever get PG or not it will always be something that I identify with. I want to honor this time/aspect of my life and who I am in this moment and hopefully feel inspired when I look at it. So here is my idea....something along the lines of this:
The development/life cycle of the blastocyst. I think they look beautiful and they remind me of mandala style tattoos. I also am attracted to anatomical type tattoos and this falls under that category. I think they would look really amazing in shades of black/grey/white ink. I have always thought that I would get a tattoo on my left inner forearm so that is where I am imagining them to be. I think in a row starting with the first one closest to the inside of my elbow extending all the way down to the last one being at my wrist. That means the whole length of my forearm would have ink! That's a little ambitious for a first tattoo! Of course B is totally against it...he thinks I will regret it. He keeps saying that when I am old it will look terrible. What 80 year old's tattoo doesn't look terrible I ask you? So not only do I have to convince myself that this is what I want, I also have to convince B that this is a good idea. I need input. Is this a horrible idea or totally genius? WWAYIFD? (what would all you infertiles do?)
I love the meaning behind it and also find beauty in anatomy of the blastocyst progression. However, I would agree that the size and placement of this on your arm is quite ambitious for a first tattoo. I would be most concerned about finding a tattoo artist that would be able to recreate your vision. Maybe you could start with one of the blastocysts and If you really liked it, you could go back every so often and have another one added, until they trailed down to your wrist?
ReplyDeleteI love the idea as well, but I also am afraid of the permenance. I have been contemplating a tatoo as well and I like that yours would be very unique. I think a tatoo is completely personal and if you are 100% for is then I say do it!
ReplyDeleteYou may be mad at me for saying this, but I think it's too much. Like one reader said, tattoos are very personal decisions, so you can ignore all of my advice, but I think you should give it more time to see where this experience takes you before you use ALL the real estate on your arm. With a tattoo on that public of a part of your body, you will be asked questions all the time. What if things aren't going well? Will you want to rehash your pain all the time? What if a pregnant persons asks you about it?! haha. Seriously, I love the idea of honoring the infertility experience in a tattoo, but I think that you should let the story play out more.
ReplyDeleteWell, me too, I think it might be a little too much at once. I would also recommend something more metaphoric, a secret of your own. But then again, I am someone who prefers ornamentals to anatomicals. And someone who tends to be more careful than spontaneous :-) It's just that we never know in what kind of situations (e.g. in work life) we will find ourselves in the future. Maybe something that you can more easily cover would be a safer choice to start with? Regards from the sound of reason I guess :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the honesty guys...I am probably not in love with it enough to get it. The size or placement isn't holding me back...its the image it's self. Sigh, someday I'll figure it out. Or not.
ReplyDeleteI love tattoos, and yours would be hella unique! I have a friend who told me that anytime I wanted a tattoo, I should print out a picture of it and tape it to the wall by my bed so it was the first thing I saw in the morning and the last thing I saw before I went to bed. If I didn't get sick of the image in 6 months, it was probably a good one. I thought that was good advice. Too bad he didn't mention it BEFORE I got a huge Simba lion tattoo on my back (it's now covered up. But you can kinda see paw if you look closely. That's why 18 year olds should never get tattoos).
ReplyDeleteI love the idea but as the girls say maybe not for your first? However! I love the idea of an infertility related tattoo. I have 5 tats, a couple pictures and some quotes. All small... But I have one on my ribs in Gaelic which is my wedding song. No one knows what it means but it means something to me. (When they ask, I tell). There are some beautiful quotes and symbols for infertility maybe something a little more subtle for the first time?
ReplyDeleteI'm like you, I've always wanted a tattoo, but was worried that every idea I came up with wasn't "special" or "important" enough to be on my body forever. That all flew out the window when my husband, our best friend, and I decided one night that we would get tattoos the next day when we drove to Atlanta to a concert. We only had a few hours to decide what we wanted and while the image may not have the most meaning to me, the story and experience means the world to me.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, I agree with the ladies above. That idea, while I love it, might be too ambitious for a first tattoo. If you or your husband are worried about what a tattoo will look like when you're 80, get it in a place that is easy to cover up, but also available to show off if you want, like your shoulder or foot.
I've heard that you should sit on a tattoo idea for 6 months to a year to make sure that you really love it (obviously I didn't listen.) There are also tutorials online on how to make your own temporary tattoo using freezer paper (I think,) so you could draw (or have a friend draw) your idea, put it on your body for a few days and see if you really like the size and placement.
I personally believe that tattoos are so personal, so if you love the idea above, ignore all of us and go for it! Just promise to post pictures.