This time of year has been difficult because it reminds so much of when my mom was here last year. The dates, the birthdays, back to school, the summer heat, the garden... it all brings little reminders of last summer. I hadn't had passion flower blooms all summer, hence only a few butterflies. I think it would have been even harder to see butterflies daily as we did last year relaxing on the patio. I did get surprised by a hummingbird who has visited three times so far looking for something to eat. I set up a window feeder with a bright red lid and hope to see more of him soon.
Labor Day 2007 was the beginning of the end. My mother's legs started to swell and we discovered she had blood clots from the groin down in both. It was a big source of discomfort and immobility which was frustrating for her to deal with.
This year I took a trip to Pittsburgh to visit Trey. Of course, he's got half her DNA so just looking at him is hard at times. Not to mention that Gustav was breathing down the necks of our family and friends. It was hard to focus on having fun when all I thought about was the tragedy Katrina brought to so many, not to mention the feeling that post-K stress had much to do with mom's cancer two months later.
Nevertheless, we made the best of our visit. Trey "surprised" me after picking me up from the airport and walked us to a tattoo parlor downtown. Are you kidding me? My first thought was, "There goes the blood drive." Then I realized, "Ain't no way in hell I'm throwing a tattoo on right now after I've been mulling over what I'd want to get for over 10 years now." I've been talking to Kerry for so long about it; but my "fear of commitment" has kept me from deciding what and where it should be. So I was there supporting Trey for his first (and last?) tattoo.
Trey, on the other hand, is the complete opposite when it comes to making a decision/planning. We quickly put together a design and got started. No one in Pittsburgh had heard of a fleur de lis. "Does that have something to do with Florida?" Instead, they had shamrocks everywhere. "You know, the thing on the Saints helmets," Trey told the guy wearing the Steelers jersey. "Oh, yeah!" The biggest debate then became about what color to make it. Saints gold and Steelers gold are very different colors. We finally agreed on ochre (not like the gumbo), which apparantly can get a little gummy and stick to the needles causing the whole darn thing to lift up and fall on the floor.
Emil was great and wouldn't let me help clean up. (Trey probably needed the break anyway.) All in all it went well and I think the end product was what he wanted. 
3 comments:
It's already starting to fade. I think I'm going back to get the fleur de lis done in a brighter yellow color. He was right... my skin's too dark for that "ocher" color. Plus, I really liked the red color that the blood left behind... I think I'm going to have him fill the interior with red now that it's gone away.
I LOVE the tattoo! Ive been chickening out for years on getting a tattoo! Just recently Rico got is 2nd & 3rd done and I was "supposed" to get something but no designs popped or caught my attention, so I didnt get it then.
Rico wants his 4th tattoo to be of the cross with fleur de lis on each 4 ends of it. That's a common design we see around here. I'm starting to like it myself and might go for it too?!?
When trying to decide on something permanent to put on your body, it's hard to go wrong with your heritage. At least you know that won't change:)
Post a Comment