Alicia has been wanting a tattoo for a long time. I have been wanting her to not get a tattoo for just as long. I did not want her to be in pain, I did not want her to do something she might regret later, and I did not want her to make a permanent change to her body that both of us have to live with for the rest of our lives. This year, as a twenty-fifth birthday present to herself, she decided to go through with it. She had been interested in an intricate triangular celtic knot for a long time, but was informed by Glenn, her artist, that he wouldn't be able to do the design she wanted unless it was stretched across her entire back. She picked another, simpler triangular design from his flash (tattoo industry speak for stock art) and came home with a new tattoo last Wednesday.

Now that she's had it done, I've warmed to it a bit. I was more than a little unhappy to be the one that had to clean and moisturize it for her for the first few days, since it's located on her upper back at the base of her neck, but aside from that I suppose it isn't so bad. Here's a look: