Tonight I explained why I have my tattoos to my kids.
It wasn't an easy discussion to have, but I did it. I did it because I believe my children are intelligent and deserve an explanation.
The discussion of what they wanted at eight and ten respectively was merely a side effect of that discussion.
(What I have and why I have it on the flip)
My first tattoo I got when I was 31. For the longest time I avoided getting one because I considered it a fad, a fashion that I had no reason to indulge in.
And then I found out I was going to Iraq.
My kids had been taken from me, and my ex-wife had left me. I had nothing, except a war to look forward to. A war I did not believe in. And so, one night after a few beers and carousing with battle buddies, I went to a tattoo parlor in Austin, TX, and got the Athena Giustiniani, with addition of a M-4 on my right shoulder.
I fought in the war of Iraq. I was shot. I shot a man. I survived. He did not.
I came home. I did the best I could to regain my children which had been lost before I left.
I regained my children.
Before I got them back I got a second tattoo. The Hera Campana with addition of a pistol.
I had reason for that too. I was keeping my vows. My wife had left me, but my children were the most important thing in my life, and I intended to do everything for them.
Four years later, I have my kids. Therapy, and long, hard work have helped turn their destructive behavior into two of the most perfect kids in their school. Both read constantly, and get on me if I don't read them an original story that I have written that day.
They have become my muses, as well as my charges.
I love my kids, and have already taken the chance of giving my life for them. My family has aided me in this desire, and I have nothing but the greatest respect and admiration for them.
Tonight I explained that to my kids. They immediately wanted tattoos of their own.
Perhaps I fucked up a little. But at least I showed them how much they meant to me.
And they aren't getting tattoos till they're eighteen. :)
Thu Aug 01, 2013 at 11:09 PM PT: Thanks for the quick and memorable trip up the Rec list. As usual, I'm the worst judge of my own work.
Hell with it, here's an eclectic song I like to say thank you.
9:30 AM PT: I need to drink more, if it improves my writing to this extent. ;)