Tattoo Parlor and a New Life

Well, I’m doing it – starting life over again with a new freedom, a new independence, and by myself. It’s another new chapter in my life. My close friends say it’s a whole new book. We’ll see.

My daughters have been very supportive, encouraging me in my tentative first steps, and even doing some mother-daughter bonding over new ear piercings when they were home in April.

My original earring holes closed up some twenty years ago when I stopped wearing earrings. My younger daughter, who has completely filled her ears with hardware, was thrilled to guide me. “Don’t have it done with a piercing gun at the mall. The recommended method is needle piercing.” Who knew? So I checked online and found many articles, including one from Good Housekeeping! I was definitely behind the times on this issue.

She had planned to get yet another ear piercing while on island, so I let her do the research on where to go, and I just tagged along. I had no idea this meant going to a tattoo parlor! The posters alone were an entirely new curriculum. Oh my!

I was a bit uneasy as I walked to a room at the back of the shop, escorted by a heavily tattooed man. Turns out he was the parlor owner, a man with 20 years of experience with tattoo artistry and body piercing.

I settled into the plastic wrapped chair and put my lobes into his capable hands. I shivered a bit as he wiped my ears with alcohol, marked the new holes, had me check them, and then came at me with a needle. “Deep breath,” he suggested. That’s all I had to hear for my multi-decade yoga training to come to my rescue once again. It still hurt, but not as much as without the breathing, nor as much as the gun decades ago. And with the needle method, I got hoops – much more comfortable than sleeping with studs.

Meanwhile, I’m letting the lessons of the body piercing sink in. Take risks. Learn new things. Use my tools. Be okay with letting my children help/teach me. Expect surprise and delight. Most of these lessons are familiar friends. I expect they will continue to shape and guide me in my next chapter.

Wish me luck on my new life. I’ll attack it like I have all of my life changes – with my transformation toolkit:

• Be grateful.
• Choose my attitude/think positively.
• Be present / cultivate mindfulness.
• Get out of my comfort zone.
• Live life full out.
• Trust – Ask – Accept with gratitude.
• Self-care. And many others.

Here’s to a new life and new opportunities. With the support of family and friends, I’m ready to start over.

 

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