To tattoo or not to tattoo

{Dear Mum, I think you should stop reading this now - go to your happy place & I will be there, sans tattoo}

So here's the thing. I think I kind of want a tattoo.

Now, not saying that I will actually go through with it, but i'm not going to lie to you, I have been thinking about it a lot. My daily commute takes me past a little tattoo parlour {do they still call them that? Kind of reminds me of an ice-cream parlour, which can only be good, right?} Anyways, so almost everyday I am confronted with the thought, to tattoo or not to tattoo? 

The place is always hiving with a mass of über cool heavy-metal rockers, bikers & the heavily pierced, so potentially this is not the place for me to get inked {look at me with all my tattoo appropriate lingo. I feel tougher already}

However, having said all of this, there are still 3, no 4, little stumbling blocks I need to overcome before I decide to get a tattoo.

Number One: My mother.

I still remember having a conversation with my beloved brother after he had his sleeve filled in on his right arm. The somewhat naive question: 

"You think Mum will notice?" 

My response was along the lines of:

"Er, yeah Andrew, i'm pretty sure that unless you wear long sleeved shirts for the rest of your life, I think she might just notice the octopus that's attacking your right arm."

Number Two: Miami Ink.

I don't know if any of you have seen this show, but it scares the daylights out of me. The sheer glimpse of this show makes my knees buckle and causes me to break out in a sweat similar to an acute case of Dengue fever. So perhaps I do not have the emotional, mental & physical constitution to join the tattoo club.

Number Three: I don't know what I want.

Although I have been toying with the idea of getting a tattoo for a while, I have not been able to decide what I want. Do I want words or poetry or a verse or a picture or a symbol. Augh... such a big decision. I mean I don't want to have a tattoo for a week and think, 'man, I should have thought this one through a bit more'. As I say this, I am mentally taking myself back to the 3 weeks of 'henna-regret' I had to endure - but that is a story for another day. All I will say is that wine & henna does not mix!

Number Four: My little miss 'social media extraordinaire' friend.

She is one of my dearest friends, her creativity astounds me and I take comfort in her honesty. I seem to grace her with a daily WhatsAp image of my latest tattoo idea with the text "What about this one?"

She likes most of them but her overall argument is "Amy, what if your future husband does not like tattoos?" 

Eish.

So, I guess I am waiting for my stumbling blocks to fall. Until then, I will continue my quest to find the perfect tattoo.

Much love, the un-inked {for the moment} girl!

xx