I have many memories of my beloved Mimi. She was my maternal grandmother and I was titled her midlife crisis baby. To a degree we grew up together. She being only 42 when I was born and I being the first born grandchild created the perfect combination for being doted upon and I loved every minute of it. Mimi was a renaissance woman. A French Czech with a flair for style and entertaining, a thirst for knowledge leading to her college graduation at age 69 and an appreciation for the arts including composing poetry and enjoying musical theatre. For many years she would treat me to selections from the Dallas Summer Musicals at Fair Park. This is where I first saw Gypsy. Leading me to one day refer to my grandmother as Gypsy Rose Grand Mimi. Have you conjured up a vision of a woman similar to the character Mame? If so, you have a hint of the woman so dear to me.
One of my Mimi memories is remembering on many occasions her telling me that if only she were younger, she’d get a tattoo of a yellow rose around her navel. I wonder why she never did. Mimi wasn’t known for avoiding things that were taboo. Her ears had been pierced as an infant. While it was common in her heritage and has become common practice today that was not the case in Berwin Illinois in the 1920s. She would tell of times she would cover her ears with her hair. Hiding her earrings so people wouldn’t make judgements about her. A tattoo though might have been too scandalous at any age so it remained an unfulfilled wish. Fast forward to January 2010. Mimi has been added to list of Alzheimer’s victims and while she lost many of her memories, I am blessed to retain enough for both of us.
I started the year reading a book titled One Month to Live by Chris & Kerry Shook. I’d heard about it on my local Christian radio station and was intrigued. One of the first things the book challenges the reader to do is create a list. What 5 things would the reader want to accomplish or experience with the assumption that they really only had one month to live. You guessed it, get a tattoo was on my list. I figured hey, if I really did only have one month left, what harm or scandal would it create?
With the ease of access and more accepted view of body art today, why hadn’t I already gotten a tattoo? One reason was simple, I couldn’t think of any design I would want to look at every day for the rest of my life. Another was how could I justify the amount of grief I gave my daughter over her tattoo if I got one? Finally, I’m on staff at a church! Church ladies don’t get tattoos, especially those working with children and considering seminary.
It says in scripture not to tattoo your body. Perhaps I was committing a sin by even considering decorating my body in such a way. Although, I have been able to justify makeup, pierced ears and hair dye but this one might be going too far. Once I was able to get over my own legalistic view of God’s word I started praying about the idea and having memories of Mimi. Through that period of time I was given an idea for a design to use. All the pieces started coming together and in February I decided to take the plunge.
Out of respect, I did talk it over with my husband before I went under the needle(s). Then I preceded to find an artist, schedule an appointment and invite some girlfriends to come along. One girlfriend chose to stay home and hold a prayer vigil. (That’s a story for another time.) While it’s been almost a year since I became decorated and have since gone on to work with youth in addition to children at church, I wouldn’t change my choice one bit. Talking to the youth about why they shouldn’t get one is another subject.
My tattoo is an expression of growth and recovery. It’s also a reminder of choices. Included in the design is the acronym L.I.F.E. It stands for LOVE INTEGRITY FORGIVENESS ENTHUSIASM. It also reminds me of my Mimi and I’m pretty sure she’d approve. She just may not understand why it’s a butterfly with a heart as its body instead of a yellow rose.
