When I was 18 I got a small, meaningless tattoo. It was a spur of the moment thing, and thankfully, it’s in a spot that almost no one ever sees. I am fascinated by tattoos and have wanted, for a very long time, to get something on my body that felt important and special. Having had kids, I knew that I wanted something that, to me, would represent how much of an impact they’ve had on my life. The trick was to figure out what sort of imagery spoke to my heart.
Two years ago I had my last child. Scott and I knew that 3 was our number. He “took care of his end of things” and our family felt complete. Around that same time, I came across an image of hand-drawn arrows that I found unbelievably beautiful. This summer, when I started feeling the pull quite strongly, I shopped around for an artist who understood where I was coming from. I really wanted that important tattoo, and if not now, then when? So, in early October, with Scott holding my hand, I got what I wanted. There are four arrows, one for my husband and each of my boys. They are the four arrows that penetrated my heart, and changed it forever.


Side note: Each of my guys picked an arrow that represented them (from left to right: Reese, Theo, Quinn, Scott). Reese, age 5, likes to cuddle up with me and stroke “his” arrow. Theo, age 2, draws arrows in marker on his forearm to match mama. I love these boys like crazy.
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