Two tattoo related things happened to me just now at the grocery store. I need to preface this anecdote by explaining that on Monday of this week I took time off work and went and got the second installment of my blue flower arm tattoo. I was in love with the first blue flowers the artist did and now even more madly in love with the new flower. He also added some leaves to what he did last time to cover up the rest of what I initially had.
Keep your eye on the new, turquoise flower. So I ran into my neighbor at the store. She is a lovely lady and she and I chat when we see each other. Definitely not the kind of neighbor you pretend you don’t see when you’re out in public or that makes you rush into your house when you get home because you see them out in their yard and you don’t want to talk to them.
We chatted for a few minutes and as I was getting ready to walk away, she complimented me and said how cute I looked. Then, dear readers, she gave my arm a hearty pat…right on the new, turquoise flower. I didn’t grimace. I didn’t say anything. I didn’t want to make her feel bad. But it stung for the rest of my journey around the store.
The other tattoo related event occurred when I walked past a lady looking at something in an aisle I was passing by. She was wearing a sleeveless sundress and she was reaching for something on the shelf. On her arm was the most beautiful multi-colored paisley tattoo that went all the way up her arm. I love paisley! I wanted so badly to tell her how pretty it was. I had missed my chance to do something similar earlier today when I was, incidentally at the same store. There was a lady in the produce section that had a French braid in her hair with the most vibrant, shiny, metallic almost pink and purple highlights. It was gorgeous! And I wanted to tell her, but as I’ve written about before, I’m just not that brave.
But now, this lady with the paisley tattoo? I walked past the aisle she was in, but immediately stopped and went back. Perhaps emboldened by my neighbor telling me I looked cute and that she was jealous of me (I had recently told her about how happy I am since quitting my old job), perhaps just feeling cute myself, I got the paisley lady’s attention, pointed at her arm, and exclaimed, “That’s beautiful!” She smiled and said thank you, and then I turned and walked away to get what I came for. I hope that comment made her feel good, because it certainly made me feel great. Just the fact that I finally had the courage to compliment another woman, out loud, in public.
It’s my hope that now that I’ve done it once, it will be easier for me to do it again and again.
Leave a Reply