(I have had this post drafted since late last year…this seemed like the perfect forum to post.)

Tattoos are works of art expressing your passion…it just so happens the canvas is your body.

“Just because you have kids doesn’t mean you can’t wear your heart on your sleeve (or back or thigh), say these hip moms.” -I Love My Tattoos, Parents December 2007

This article was quite refreshing from the norm conservative house-mom stories the magazine publishes. Tattoos are not symbols of a bad person. I remember when my mom thought everyone with a pager or cell was a drug dealer. As if.

“It never occurred to me and my husband that anyone would consider owning a tattoo business inappropriate for parents. Tattoos are just part of our generation.” -Sarah Stout, Parents December 2007

My first tattoo is of a half sun/half moon with stars. The design was flash, but represented my dual self/ego. The symbol reminds me of the day and night personality masks I wear daily. Who am I?

I answered this question with my second tattoo: an ouroboros dragon. My 27th birthday gift to self was a tattoo from Cat Tattoo of an ouroboros dragon. (Thank you, Memphis.) The tattoo is a custom work of art placed on mid-lower back. I am not a big girl, so the tattoo is a bit bigger than I originally intended, but discreetly hidden. The dragon with tail in its mouth symbolizes infinity and the eating of ones self/ego — the archetypal significance to the psyche was a key study of my master thesis/Communicators Anonymous.

I could only sit through 2 1/2 hours of ink work on my back this round, so I will need to go back to Memphis for detail work when healed. My next tattoo design (there will surely be another) is unknown, but will be an expression of a snapshot in time. Normal? Maybe.