So, I did a new thing
So...I did a new thing.
(And, of course, there is a story behind it!)
When my daughter, Maddie, was a freshman she floated the idea that she wanted us to get matching Mother-Daughter tattoos. Like any mother of a teenage daughter who actually wants to do something with her, I said yes.
(Full transparency here ... I wasn't sure that by the time she turned 18 she would still like me enough to actually want to get the tattoo, so I didn't get my hopes toooo far up.)
Lo and behold, this spring Maddie started showing me images of the tattoos she liked. (Were we actually doing this?! OMG, play it cool, Steph!) We decided that we wanted to get something that represented both of our birth month flowers, we wanted them to be identical, and we wanted them to be in the same spot.
Insert lesson about compromise here. Ha!
The lesson I really learned was about leaning more into who you are
... and she was my teacher.
Now, people get tattoos every day. It's not a big deal. At least, it's not as big of a deal as it used to be. Unless you grew up in a conservative, business school-minded environment like I did where "what will people think?" was always a front and center question.
I was totally cool with the idea of the tattoo. I've wanted one for years. I think they tell such interesting stories about people. And I think they are badass. Until we met our tattoo artist...
I went into this thinking I was getting a little 2-inch flower on my wrist. (See photo above. It is NOT 2 inches, nor is it on the inside of my wrist.) Our artist apparently does not do "designer tattoos" which is what we were describing. She explained why (fading, pain, etc.), and while I had to admire her holding the boundary of her craft that meant I was suddenly NOT getting what I expected.
Picture this: I'm sitting across from my amazing 18-year-old daughter, ON HER BIRTHDAY, and she's wanted this tattoo for years. My brain is hearing the echoes of some of those old voices as I fiddle with a place where this tattoo will go. I'm trying to figure out how to not make it so obvious, etc. when Maddie says,
"Mom, you're already a badass. It's just a tattoo."
Suddenly, I wanted a whole sleeve of tattoos. You know what, I AM a badass! It IS just a tattoo! All I needed was that little nudge. That nudge from someone who knew me and cared enough to give me the permission I needed to just go for it.
I've had a few people comment to me after I posted about it on IG, "If Stephanie Polen can do this, so can I!" Friend, I am by no means the barometer for what you can/cannot or should/should not do, but if it gives you permission in some way to lean more into who you are in some way (tattoo or not!), then DO IT!
You are already a badass, too.