My Mom Got Her First Tattoo at 70 Today
A great reminder that you can do anything at any age
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When I got my first tattoo at age 43 this summer I was terrified to tell my mom.
When I was growing up she was kind of conservative about that stuff. She wore a lot of Ralph Lauren polo shirts (which in the eighties SAID something about a person). She grew up fancy and was a debutante back in Denver society. She always told me tattoos were trashy.
But I’m a grown ass woman now and I am the boss of my body. Still, I was nervous.
And then she had the exact opposite reaction to what I imagined. It was an incredible reminder that everyone can still surprise you.
“Fun!” she exclaimed like an exuberant toddler who has been told they can stick their popsicle in their brother’s armpit. “I want one.”
“What?" Seriously?”
“I think I’d like to get a dragon. On my neck.”
What the fuck mom!
She wasn’t joking. She wanted to get the dragons from Game of Thrones tattooed on her neck.
“A neck tattoo feels…….aggressive for age 69,” I said, trying not to judge. I don’t judge. But also….a neck tattoo? No, no, no. If she wanted a neck tattoo I had to be supportive.
“Cool,” I managed.
“Maybe not my neck,” she conceded. “Somewhere else. But definitely a dragon. One with three heads.”
That’s how I found myself in the same tattoo parlor in Fishtown where I got my beloved Medusa tattoo a few months ago (still love it), watching my septuagenarian mother get a three headed dragon tattoo while wearing a pink Ralph Lauren button down. The world never ceases to amaze me.
I’ve gotta say I don’t think I’ve seen my mom this excited outside of the times I handed her a new grandchild. I wrote last week about injecting a little adventure into my marriage by scaling a 150 foot cliff together. This feels very similar. It’s amazing to try new things and to get out of our comfort zone. I’m very happy to know that my mom’s comfort zone now includes three-headed dragon tattoos. We get to be anything we want to be at any age. It’s inspiring and invigorating and amazing.
Not my story to share but feels appropriate here..my friend’s grandmother got her first tattoo for her 90th birthday. A bunch of the women in family all got the same one in different locations/sizes. I thought it was the coolest thing ever and wish my family was half as open minded.
Love it! She’s cooler than me. Although it is something I’m beginning to think about…. I’m almost 63….