I finally did it. For years, I’ve been wanting a tattoo but because of crazy old wife tales and the stigma of them, I decided not to get it. But the thought kept haunting me. Every time I saw someone with a tattoo, I kept thinking about it.
So, I surfed the Internet and found a few tattoos that I loved. I sat with them for many months trying to decide whether or not it was right for me. I sent out an email to my friends in the Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) and only one person responded. Ren, the guy from EO, gave me the name of a tattoo artist in Brooklyn named Stefanie. He told me she was the best artist. I wrote to her. She explained in an email that she was unable to take me and suggested that I go to a place in the village, called NY Adorned and ask for Virginia Elwood. Stefanie said that everyone is great there but that she really liked Virginia’s work.
I scoped the place out a few months ago with my husband. It looked clean. The people seemed nice. They were very friendly and supportive. Okay, I thought, I’ll try to get an appointment with Virginia. I emailed NY Adorned. A representative wrote back and said, “just come in at 1 pm on a Saturday and they will take you as a walk in. No appointment is necessary.”
This past Saturday, my good friends, Steve and Madeline, and I drove into Manhattan. I have been talking about tattoos for months and Steve mentioned that he always wanted to get one. The two of us were going to go together and Madeline was there for support.
When we got there, we explained what we wanted and the guy behind the counter asked us, “who wants to go first?”
“I’ll go,” Madeline said. Steve and I looked at each other in disbelief! She had joked about getting one too but we didn’t think she was serious. When she was finished, Steve went in.
The guy behind the counter told me that Virginia Elwood would be doing my tattoo. I was shocked. How lucky can I get! I just walked in on a holiday weekend and got the person that was recommended to me!
My tattoo took 45 minutes. The image is two flowers, representing my children, on a spiky vine, representing life’s roughness and beauty. I thought it was perfect for me.
I can’t tell you that it didn’t hurt, because it did, big time! Madeline was trying to talk to me to get my mind off the pain but it was hard. It felt like someone was digging into my skin. Since then, I feel a little better. It feels like a bad sunburn now. But every time I look at it, I love the image. I’m so happy that I decided to do it.
I know that people either love them or hate them. There’s no in between. A lot of people, including my son, gave me a hard time. He didn’t want me to do it. And when I came home, he didn’t want to see it. Yesterday I was walking around the house with a halter top and he saw it and said, “you know mommy, that is really beautiful.”
It made me smile…
It really is beautiful. Enjoy for many years to come.