This week saw me completing probably my fortieth 50.4.50. I have been talking about this one for years and years. It finally took me turning the big 5-0 to act on it. My first tattoo, loud and clear on my forearm, is now a reality. Getting it has reinforced how proud I am of myself for making the plan to do this list and for coming so very close to being near the end. I made an appointment almost five months ago with a young man name Ryan at Oni Tattoo in Salt Lake City. He came highly recommended by a friend of mine who is very well-inked. I saw Ryan's work and immediately put down my deposit and waited out my five months. Not once did I waver from doing this. In fact, I was so excited that by yesterday when it was time for my appointment I was 100% sure of walking in the front door of that tattoo parlor and getting my ink.
I had been grappling with several design ideas, but the theme seemed to be the same throughout: a sunburst. It was perhaps a week or so ago when I was going through some old belongings and an artistic tile I had bought in Sedona a few months ago suddenly resurfaced. The design on the tile caught my eye and I said, this is it. I carried the tile around in my purse all week and every time I glanced at it, it became clearer. This was my tattoo.
The process was a whole lot easier than I thought it would be. It took literally all of about 45 minutes. I had it in my mind that I would be there for hours, but once Ryan sketched the initial design, we made one revision and off to the table I went. Ryan had a great table-side manner and really put me at ease. When he was done, he joked with me that I was officially on the dark side and now I would no longer be able to get a job! We laughed and immediately started talking about how long it would be before I came back in for my next. I am still considering whether or not to get some color on this one, a nice shade of purple might be the answer. This was reinforced when as I was driving back up into the mountains from Salt Lake, I was greeted with an amazing rainbow.
Getting a tattoo at my age was a bit unnerving, but I was helped when I asked the young man at the front desk if I was the oldest he had ever seen. He smiled, and said no ma'am, in fact last week we had a 70 year old lady come in for her first. That made me feel great! Thanks dude!
When I got home last night, I showed the tattoo to my kid. He shrugged, said that's cool and off he went. I realized later that his generation are probably so used to seeing tattoos that it didn't even make him blink. Let's hope that he waits until he is 50 for his first. If not, I will embrace his creativity and right to own his body as this is making me feel I own mine.
“My body is my journal, and my tattoos are my story.” ― Johnny Depp
Until My Next Adventure,
P.A. Walker
