A Year to Remember
When I turned 61, I began a year-long celebration of my golden birth year (age 61 born in ’61). I had thought that the much-delayed/highly anticipated trip to Greece would be the grand finale of that special time in my life. However, I wasn’t ready for the fun to end.
So when we (my husband, grandson, and I) returned from our European vacation I wanted to plan one more event as there was still a month left to go until my next birthday. I wanted to go out with a bang and do something totally unexpected. “What to do, what to do?” I pondered. Then the proverbial light bulb went off and I laughed my evil laugh (well, not out loud as I was at work, but in my head for sure!) I wasn’t quite sure where to start and I didn’t want to ask for advice because I wanted to keep this event a secretfrom EVERYONE. Google to the rescue! I put my idea into motion and couldn’t wait for the big reveal. So what big bang event did I come up with? I, Linda Fessel, a mom/grandma/great-grandma/bookkeeper for heaven’s sake never thought I would do this but… I got a tattoo!
And now for the story behind the scenes…
During my preliminary Google research, I discovered that “thee” premiere tattoo studio in the QCA is Silver Key. I browsed the bios of the artists who had open books and once I came across Josh’s bio, I knew he was the one because he is described as “quirky” and my middle son is named Josh and can also be described as quirky. Serendipity!
Once I met with “Tattoo Josh” for our planning session, I knew I had made the right choice. As a “mature lady”, I didn’t want anything too whimsical, but I wanted a tattoo that would pay homage to the pet nicknames my husband and I have for each other. After our discussion, we scheduled a date and time for me to come back and Josh got to work on the design.
Although it’s nearly a year and a half later, I remember with such clarity how my breath caught in my throat when Josh opened his laptop to show me the design. No tweaks or adjustments needed. It was, is, and always will be perfect as drawn!
Getting a tattoo had the desired shock factor I was going for which was SO much fun. But, more importantly, what remains with me forever is a lasting tribute to my “Butterfwy” from his “Lady Bug”, courtesy of a quirky and talented artist!
Josh, I can’t thank you enough.