Red Wings Tattoo

For as long as I can remember, I have wanted a tattoo. Not because “they’re cool” or flashy, but because they are a piece of you and who you are.

But, my parents have been against them for as long as they can remember, too. They think a tattoo says, “Yea, I’ve been to prison,” or, “My hearing is next week.”

I’ve slowly brought them around to the idea that it’s going to happen. They still don’t approve, but they don’t need to, I’m 22, not 12. I’ve just wanted them to understand that it’s inevitable and that one day I will have a tattoo that they must get used to.

My dad still looks at me like I’m an idiot for wanting one and refuses to take me seriously. My mom, well, she has turned into the, “You’re not getting it anywhere you can’t cover up,” person. Together, they attempt to guilt me into not getting one by thinking they can scare me about having it for life and being able to look at it everyday with zero regret.

I almost got one when I was 18, but still couldn’t decided on what I wanted for life. I knew it would be something hockey, or maybe Michigan, or both. If it’s going to be hockey, then maybe I can incorporate both the Red Wings and Michigan into it together.

I almost got one on my 20th birthday, my favorite number and an applicable birthday gift to myself. But still hadn’t selected a design I love.

Last week, I got my first tattoo. A Red Wings tattoo, seven feathers from the Winged Wheel, taken directly out of the infamous logo. I was vacationing in Key West, Florida and my girlfriend and I decided on getting tattoos, my first one and her fourth.

I got it over my heart, on the left side of my chest. It’s perfect, it’s something I can live with for the rest of my life. Something I will live with for the rest of my life. I have no regrets and my artist, Dot, from Southernmost Tattoo, did an incredible job.

I have yet to tell my parents. I haven’t discovered a way to break it to them, even though they know it has been a long time coming. My mom returns home from her own Florida trip on Sunday and with them together I will get it over with.