Thoughtful Spot |

In(ked) Remembrance


Sunday marked 6 months since Tigger passed away. I can hardly believe he has been gone this long already. Everyday I miss his sweet soul. His passing finally gave me the push I needed to take the plunge and get some ink.

I have wanted to get a tattoo for as long as I can remember. When I was sixteen, I wanted a small one of Winnie the Pooh holding a red ballon. I’m not going to lie. I still think about it every once in a while. Although, I would probably put it somewhere more tasteful than that teenage girl wanted it. No red balloons peeking out from any of this gals bras. I was always a little scared for obvious reasons. Just how much is this going to hurt? Mostly, I just couldn’t commit a design for all of forever.

After my mom passed away in 2007, my sister and I started talking about getting a tattoo in remembrance. Even though she hated them. What rebels we are or were planning to be. If you knew my mom at all you knew one thing. She loved cats. All types of cats and leopard prints. They were everywhere in our lives. From pictures and puzzles, clothing and coffee tables shaped like cats. You name it and she had it. It either was a cat or had some sort of print to it. Actually to a point that I have a bit of an aversion to all things cat these days. They remind of her with affection but you won’t see it on me or in my house unless it can actually purr. Fur babies are the only exception.
We just sort of keep saying we should do it but never got around to it. After I lost Tigger in March this year I got thinking about it again.  We got Tigger’s footprints done as a memorial token. I wanted to get something for him as well. It made perfect sense to use his footprint for the tattoo and honour them both at the same time. 
My sister was on board. It turns out my brother had decided that he wanted to do get one as well with us. We all used the basic paw print. Mine is basic. Just his paw print. My sister’s is a big bigger than mine with leopard print inside as an extra nod to my mom. She also got it in the same place I did. My brother had it enlarged to a more manly size and had mom’s initials added inside as well. 

It was such a bonding experience to all go together and get it done. It is definitely a memory I will cherish forever. It is amazing how something so simple as a paw print can hold so much meaning and sentiment.

Now that I finally got my first one, the only question is what should I get next? Maybe I can figure out how to get that red balloon after all. wink wink