I was watching Jon and Kate Plus Eight this morning, and they were talking about their respective tattoos. Kate has two of them (one is just a fragment of a rose that was mostly removed during her tummy tuck surgery), and Jon has six.
They both emphasized over and over again how much they regretting getting them, and how stupid they feel about it now. Jon said that all of his tattoos symbolize things that he no longer believes in, and now when he looks at them all he can see his what an idiot he was in his youth. Kate said she is embarrassed whenever her kids ask about the Winnie-the-Pooh on her ankle, and that she is going to feel especially stupid when she’s an 80-year-old woman with Winnie-the-Pooh on her body.
When I was young I flirted with the idea of getting a small tattoo (didn’t we all?), but in the end, my mother’s dire warnings that I’d regret it someday kept me from going through with it. To this day, though, I don’t think I would really feel embarrassed if I had one. I definitely would have made a subtle choice — a small heart or star in a place that could easily be covered up if need be — so maybe that’s why I don’t think it would be such a big deal to be pushing forty with a tattoo. I definitely don’t think I’d feel like a poser or someone clinging to youth or anything like that.
Both of my younger sisters have tattoos, and they are both very pretty and I like them. I don’t think they are shameful in the least.
On the other hand I remember my Uncle Don telling me when I was young — this would be when he was at least 70 or so, I would say — that having his initials tattooed on his forearm was one of the stupidest things he’d ever done, and he made me promise never to get a tattoo myself, because it would mark me as an idiot for life.
So I guess what I’m saying is…do the majority of people who have tattoos really do regret it someday? Are there any middle-aged folk out there with tattoos who are actually happy about them?
Should I go get one now, just to prove what a badass mommy I am? I think I would totally rock the Treehouse logo on my butt, don’t you think?
TurtleHead 
I was just thinking about this last night! I was thinking about the first guy I ever dated, and how he was hooked on tattoos in high school, and how he probably regrets most of his choices now.
LittleSis and I always wanted tattoos, but we both knew the importance of waiting until we had matured, until we fully understood ourselves as people.
It’s true that our tattoos are lovely and that neither of us regret them (in fact, LittleSis is planning on getting a second one). We both chose symbols that will last (too much detail in a tattoo leads to smudging over age) and symbols that will always represent a part of us. Her flaming sun represents her love of summer and warmth, and that will never change. My nautical star represents my inner punk and my never-ending search for the right way through life.
It helps that ours are located in easy-to-cover up places. I don’t think many people have ever seen LittleSis’ tattoo, and that shows that she got it mostly for her.
Outside the symbols that we sport, it’s also the idea of having a tattoo. Yup, it’s rebellious and bad-ass, at least in our household, and LittleSis and I have always needed (and will probably always need) to feel a little dangerous and a little rebellious. 🙂
I’m sooooo glad I didn’t do the little butterfly beneath my belly button that I wanted when my belly was as flat as could be (when I was 19). Imagine it now after two babies????? That said, I wouldn’t be totally opposed to getting one but at this point there’s nothing I’d want to get.
Well gee. I was going to make a post about the massive bald eagle tattoo I got across my chest this weekend, but now I just feel awkward.
I have a celtic knot on my right lower back I got when I was 19 (I’m now 30). I don’t regret it one bit. It’s just high enough so that when my shirt rides up or if I’m wearing lower-cut pants it’s hidden. I got it to remember the three strong Irish women in my life – my mom, my aunt, and my grandmother. I want to get another one but the husband’s against it. If I was allowed a small one, it would be a caduceus close to my knot. If I were allowed whatever the hell I want, it would be a caduceus but instead of a plain cross, it would be a celtic one. Either way, I want it on my lower left back to mirror the one that’s there.
I think if you have a small tattoo in a discrete place it’s not a big deal, but I see so many kids today with their entire arms and/or legs tattooed — not to mention chests and backs and even faces!! Everyone I know who had a lot of tattoos as a youngster regrets them now. I had a boss once who never wore short sleeves because his forearms were tattooed with naked women and stuff from back when he was in the navy. Now he’s trying to be a respected business type, so he sweats all summer. I’ve thought of getting a very small tattoo on my ankle, but I probably won’t