I Have Tattoos {And My Dad Hates Them}

I have 7 tattoos.

I got my first one in Venice Beach , CA, on a girl's trip with a sorority sister when I was 20.  It's a sun on the top of my right foot.

Tattoo #1: the sun on my right foot.  Yes, I am aware that I need a pedicure.

My second tattoo was done in Mission Beach, CA, at age 21.  It's a taurus symbol, my astrological sign.  It's that forgotten tattoo because I never see it (it's on my lower back), so I never really think about it.

The third was a red star on the inside of my left heel.  It was Pacific Beach, I was 26.  I love stars.

A tiny ichthys was tattoo #4.  I was 27, and in Reno, NV, for a friend's college business school graduation.  There was a group of us and it we all got a wild hair.  The tattoo is just below my toes on the top of my left foot. 

The fifth I got on a whim (I guess I got most of them on a whim).  It is a blue star on the inside of my left wrist.  I got it a few months before we adopted my son in 2008.  That one is for him.  Did I mention I love stars.

Stars on my left wrist.  The blue star is #5 for David, and the black star is #7 for the baby I lost.

The sixth and seventh tattoos were done at the same time (well, the 7th was done when I got #6 re-touched).  The 6th is the outline of a sparrow on the inside of my right wrist.  It looks as if it is flying off my arm.  There is a gospel song titled His Eye is on the Sparrow.  It is my reminder that if God can take care of a sparrow, then He will surely take care of me (Matthew 10:29-31).  It is my favorite tattoo.

My sparrow on my right wrist.

Number 7 is a tiny black star just below the blue star on the left wrist.  It is for the baby I lost.

I have ideas for tattoos number 8 and number 9.  Maybe I'll get them done this summer.  Maybe. 

My dad hates every single one of my tattoos.  He calls them idiot marks.  I get it.  I know why he hates them and why he calls them that.  But, I like them, and that's what counts.  After all, I'm the one who has to wear them for the rest of my life.

And I'm cool with that.