Tattoos

John has three tats. The first one he got was when he was a young man. It is a blue butterfly just like the one from the movie Papillion. That movie came out in 1973, so he probably got it around then. He hid it from his mom for a while, but she saw it one day and said "I need to get the bug spray. There is a bug on your back." He thought she was secretly proud of him.

He had one on his right upper arm that was a lightning bolt. He didn't have much of a story about that one. Probably the result of partying one night, somewhere in Tennessee or something.

On his left upper arm was the U.S. flag on a pole, and a British flag also on a pole. The poles crossed each other. He got the U.S. one first. He decided to add the British one not long after we got married. He was able to keep in closer contact with his family, and felt closer to his English heritage. I went with him to get that one, and I got one too. Mine is a small vine of flowers on my upper right arm. I also have a purple dove with an olive branch on my left lower arm. Representing Peace and Love.

I am thinking about memorial tattoos. The one I want to represent John will be of teardrops and hearts. I can't decide how I want it, but I definitely want it under the flower one I got with him. The one I want for Daddy will be a sand dollar. The beach was a place we have been going as long as I can remember. Sea shell hunting has been a life long past time. Finding a whole sand dollar was always our goal. I will always remember the good times we had as kids. Daddy made sure of that. The sand dollar will also represent the knowledge that the best things in life are found in nature, and they don't cost a thing. (As a side note, Daddy didn't have any tats. He didn't really approve of them. But, three of his four daughters have at least one.)

Do you have any memorial tats? I would love to see, or hear the stories behind them.