I did it!!!! I truly did it...lol! I know there were some doubters out there (hi Erin...lol), but I entered that Tattoo Shop again today where I met the artist, Junior.
My husband, Larry, and my nephew, Paul, were there to hold my hand and give me support! Yes PJ has his finger up to his nose....men!!! Do they ever grow up? lol! But he's a sweetie!
Here I am signing my life away....you know, all those consents to do the job, yadda, yadda, yadda! I've signed so many consents over the past year....no big deal anymore! I can sign them in my sleep now! Now all day long I had been asked if I was nervous. I wasn't....and I asked, "should I be?". Then Paul and Larry swore I was nervous at the tattoo shop because they said I was talking really, really fast...a mile a minute is the way they put it, I think! Nervous? I don't think so! Scared? Not a bit! Once I make up my mind that I want to do something, there is no fear and no stopping me! Well, I could not convince Paul, or Larry, or even the artist, Junior, that I wasn't nervous....because I was talking a "mile a minute"! Maybe I was excited....but I don't think I was nervous! They insisted I was though...lol! So...if I was nervous and I'm not admitting to being nervous, it would be of the "unknown". I had never even watched anyone get a tattoo, so had no idea how it was done other than know it involved needles and ink. If I was nervous and I'm not admitting I was...but for those who insist I was nervous....it would have been because it was permanent and I knew if a mistake was made, there was no correcting it! Now I'll admit the thought of a mispelled word, etc. makes me nervous...lol!
But, Junior was a professional and knew exactly what he was doing and made it look so easy. He had a very steady hand and I found it extremely interesting to watch him and see how tattoos are done.
The first thing he did was to rub on a stencil of the design that he had already prepared for me. A big decision had to be made....whether to put it sideways on my wrist or up and down. He suggested that I do it "up and down". I originally thought I wanted to do it sideways as my cancer sister, Amy, had done. But, I decided to take his advice so I wouldn't be totally copying Amy. Amy said she was ok with me copying her, but I thought going a different direction would make us be unique from each other.
Paul took a few pictures along the way for me. Once Junior had the stencil placed and rubbed on my arm, he began outlining it in black ink. Then he would wipe it off and begin again with coloring it in. I found it all so fascinating....maybe because I used to paint and know what a steady hand and talent it takes to do a painting. This was comparable to me, except instead of wood or fabric, etc....it was on my arm.
Pain? Not really what I'd call pain. To be honest, I would call it more of an irritant and not even much of that. It stung a little, but there was such little pain involved I was kind of surprised. So many people were telling me it was going to hurt. I wasn't so much worried about that, as I have a high tolerance for pain and have been through so much already....I figured surely I could take a little pain for a tattoo. But, I don't even classify that as pain. It was much easier than I expected, based on descriptions from others who have had tattoos...even those who haven't....lol! I didn't jerk my arm, I didn't tighten my arm, I didn't move my arm, I didn't scream nor cry....I just sat there and watched. I was a brave, brave granny.....lol! Piece of cake....hmmmm......I know I want one on my shoulder but thought I'd wait another year. I might NOT wait that long! :=) No, I won't end up having tattoos all over my body, but I saw this cute, cute butterfly that I want to put on my shoulder!
Don't you just love it!!! I may not wait a year to get this one. As a matter of fact, I'm thinking maybe I need it this summer already! :=)
But, for now, I'm happy with the one I got today! Don't you just love it! The stars are to honor my mom and my sister, Sheila, who both were diagnosed with breast cancer the year before me.
I'm thrilled with it! The dark areas around it are bruising that will go away. It's not really surprising that it bruised....I always bruise when I get blood taken or have an IV. No big deal! Now, to care for it....I wash it with anti-bacterial soap and put Preparation H ointment on it....4 times a day for 5 days! Then...done!!!! Hey, I hear Prep H is good for puffy eyes too....maybe I'll give it a try..lol!
Look at my new tricycle....I mean bicycle...lol! Actually, it's not new at all! Larry started saying he wanted a 3-wheel bicycle. I didn't even know they made such a thing! Well, I mentioned it on facebook and someone told me their mom had one and she'd see if she would want to sell it. Well, she did and I did and $25 later I have me a 3-wheeled bicycle. lol! And, look at that basket on the back. I can go get my groceries!!!! Hey, with the price of gas, this may become my new transporation everywhere. But, first Larry will have to make some adjustments to it for me. First off, he's gonna have to fix the brakes...it has NONE now...yikes! It would seem a shame to survive cancer and get killed on a tricycle...lol! And the seat moves forward which makes my butt slide down and I can't stay on it. Plus, as I rode it in our driveway today, it kept wanting to turn to the right instead of going straight. Larry says it didn't do that to him....I think he's trying to say I can't remember how to ride a bicycle! Say what???? A person never forgets how to ride a bicycle!...do they? I told my dear sister, Sheila, that she needs a 3-wheeler, too, considering she fell over several times last year when taking a bike ride with her grandkids. She claims the seat is too high and she'll do fine once it's lowered. Yeah, right. LOL! She needs to spare her grandchildren the trauma (or embarrassment) of seeing grandma fall over in the street and get her a 3-wheeler! LOL!
So, until next time....if you see this granny pedaling down the street to the grocery store on her giant tricycle, give me a wave or a toot! :=)
Cindy
No comments:
Post a Comment