Well, I finally did it. It's something I've been wanting to do for years, but just hadn't actually done it yet. I got a tattoo!
Nathan and I had gone out to dinner one night a couple weeks ago, and he asked me if I wanted to go ahead and get what we had planned - little tattoos of each other's name on our ring finger. I said yes!
After talking with the tattoo artist, though, he advised against that. He told us that not only would it be hard to make words that tiny look good in the first place, but they would wear off our fingers and look like a mess within a year or so. But we were there anyways so I figured why not just go ahead and get a tattoo anyways?
The whole process was a lot quicker than I thought - the actual tattoo only took 10 minutes - but it hurt a LOT more than I thought it would! Imagine a needle scraping ink through your skin, and that's about what it feels like. But it was all over quickly, and the pain didn't last any longer than it took him to draw the letters. (Shout out to Rocksteady Tattoo - they are awesome!)
I've known for a long time I wanted a tattoo, but I had a hard time deciding what to get. What I really wanted (and am still thinking about) is the word 'Grace' in Chinese. Since I grew up in China, and Grace is my middle name, I know that would have real significance. The only problem is that I feel like it's so cliche to get a Chinese word tattoo! And I don't want to be another one of 'those people' that do it when it has no meaning (even if mine would).
So I moved on from that idea awhile ago. Instead I decided to get 'Solo Gratia' on my shoulder. It means 'only by grace' in Italian, which holds a threefold significance:
1) Of course, my middle name is Grace.
2) I come from a family of Italians, and my heritage is 25% Italian.
3) If there's anything I want to remember for the rest of my life, it's that I'm only saved by grace. That God did not have requirements or prerequisites to save me - He did it because He loves me. And I can't do anything differently to deserve, or to unearn, that gift!
And with that, here's my new ink!
Interested in having family pictures taken before the holidays? Click here for information on upcoming mini sessions. All proceeds go to support our adoption.
