Corey just got his first tattoo.  Well, he got it a few weeks ago, and my mom can’t believe we let him get one.

But I figure, how can I say anything!  I have five!  Sure, I am older. He is only 17 (almost 18), but he came to us with an idea, and I have to say I liked it.  It meant something to him, and actually it is sort of an extension of one I want to get.

One of our favorite artists is P!nk.  She is just ‘rad’ to put it mildly.  She’s brash and ballsy, and I completely love that about her.  Her song Raise Your Glass has one quick scene in the video of two young men celebrating their marriage.  But there are also scenes of people that one might look at and see something… different.  A young girl dressed all in black, kids that skate (so, of course, they have that requisite look), gay youths, a nerd that doesn’t care what people think… and she’s telling them to just Raise Their Glass and enjoy being YOU.  I want all my boys to do that, to see the world that way.  

When the song came out, I would walk around constantly singing it, and so would Corey.  I told him that I was going to get “Raise Your Glass” possibly on my wrist, maybe on my side.  He said he wanted to get “Wrong In All The Right Ways.”  And he did.  He showed Roy some fonts he liked, Roy helped him tweak it a bit, and he brought his finished product to me and asked if I would come with him.

My parents didn’t think I should, my in laws said let him wait until he is 18, but why?  Some people put their art on the wall, and others get inked.  I told him as long as he understood that this was permanent - this wasn’t something you got for a little while and then took off when you were tired of it.  This was going to be with him forever. Did he get that?  He said yes he understood that and still wanted it.

So, Roy and I took him to the young man that did our most recent tattoos.  He was upfront, said some of the lines would be tough, so he asked if he could rework it a little bit, and when it was all said and done… it looks really great!  I know Corey, sees it and is reminded that no matter what some people say or think, he is ok just the way he is.  That the big things - being a good person, working hard, being kind… he has those covered.  When his brothers asked him about it, and he explained it to them… they got it.  Same with his friends.

I am glad to see that tattoos are becoming more acceptable.  I’m sure some would say that they are ‘trendy,’ that everyone has one, and yet, doesn’t that just mean MORE people are coming to understand that being inked doesn’t make you a reprobate. It doesn’t make your weird. It simply means you choose to wear your art on your body, as opposed to hanging it on your wall.

But be careful… they can be addicting!  Corey is already planning his next one, Joe wants one eventually, and I’m always thinking about one or two…