Table Topics Tuesday: Inked

When I was in college I contemplated getting a tattoo. I wanted three dolphins, circling tail to nose, on my lower back. I honestly can't say now exactly what it was that stopped me. I had many friends who had or were getting tattoos and I have no religious bans, so it certainly wasn't because of a perceived stigma. Maybe it was the cost, I was a poor college student, after all. Whatever the reason, I didn't do it.

Realizing now what a cliche that was, and inappropriate for me now, I'm really glad I didn't get it done. Some part of me must have realized that dolphins, while a beautiful and majestic animal, would not be a lifelong passion and I would not be happy having them on my body forever.

After that rebellious phase, I abandoned the idea of a tattoo. There was not a single image or text that I could imagine imprinting on my body that I was reasonably confident I would still like in 10, 20 or 30 years. Never during that time did I feel that tattoos were a bad thing, they just weren't for me.

But in the last few years I have begun to get that urge again. I don't necessarily have an image in mind. If anything, it would likely be an abstract form. A collection of shapes.

Unfortunately, Neil is very much against this idea. He has no tattoos, no plans to get one, and is not at all enthused about his wife having one. Since this is not something I feel strongly about, I don't plan to fight him on it. But if I had led a different life, if I had walked a different path, I might have done something like this:



or maybe this:



If you were to get a tattoo right now, what would it be? 


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