Tattoos...

Lately, Paul and I have been discussing tattoos again. He can't stand his tribal band on his arm and would like to have a bigger tattoo take it over. I always said I'd never get one because I wouldn't be able to commit to anything. Well, a year and a half ago it hit me. I'm named after a flower; a flower with a ton of meaning behind it to boot. When I began to look at pictures of this Scottish flower I found a ton of images that only discouraged me...and then I came across this story. Apparently, my mother did a really good job naming me. I couldn't think of a better name for myself :) Here's the story:

When God first made the world, He looked at the bare and barren hillsides and thought how nice it would be to cover them with some kind of beautiful tree or flower. So he turned to the Giant Oak, the biggest and strongest of all of the trees he had made, and asked him if he would be willing to go up to the bare hills to help make them look more attractive. But the oak explained that he needed a good depth of soil in order to grow and that the hillsides would be far too rocky for him to take root.
So God left the oak tree and turned to the honeysuckle with its lovely yellow flower and beautiful sweet fragrance. He asked the honeysuckle if she would care to grow on the hillsides and spread her beauty and fragrance amongst the barren slopes. But the honeysuckle explained that she needed a wall or a fence or even another plant to grow against, and for that reason, it would be quite impossible for her to grow in the hills.
So God then turned to one of the sweetest and most beautiful of all the flowers - the rose. God asked the rose if she would care to grace the rugged highlands with her splendour. But the rose explained that the wind and the rain and the cold on the hills would destroy her, and so she would not be able to grow on the hills.Disappointed with the oak, the honeysuckle and the rose, God turned away. At length, he came across a small, low lying, green shrub with a flower of tiny petals -some purple and some white. It was a heather.
God asked the heather the same question that he’d asked the others. "Will you go and grow upon the hillsides to make them more beautiful?"The heather thought about the poor soil, the wind and the rain - and was not very sure that she could do a good job. But turning to God she replied that if he wanted her to do it, she would certainly give it a try.
God was very pleased.
He was so pleased in fact that he decided to give the heather some gifts as a reward for her willingness to do as he had asked. First, he gave her the strength of the oak tree - the bark of the heather is the strongest of any tree or shrub in the whole world. Next he gave her the fragrance of the honeysuckle - a fragrance which is frequently used to gently perfume soaps and potpourris. Finally he gave her the sweetness of the rose - so much so that heather is one of the bees favourite flowers. And to this day, heather is renowned especially for these three God given gifts.


And then I found one image that inspired my drawing:



Here's the finished product:



It's a little bigger than Paul's hand and designed to grow from the side of my hip bone up, wrapping up my side. Now, a year and a half later, I think I'm ready. But that word think worries me. So, I'll keep pondering it. Maybe I'll frame this drawing to see what happens...Of course I couldn't think of a better thing that defines me so perfectly, and I drew it myself. Ehhh decisions...