Warning this strategy will not appeal to most people but for me, it marked an important stage in my life.

Before I’d registered Steve’s death, I made an appointment with Zoe a tattoo artist in Ipswich. I wanted her to tattoo the words “One Love” on my wrist. Zoe is a popular designer and normally has a 5-month waiting list but she listened to my story and told me to come back the next day.

And that’s what I did. My son came with me and as I lay down on the bed, Zoe prepared my skin before she inked the words onto my wrist using a beautiful script and white ink to make the lettering pop. She took 15 minutes to complete the tattoo. As I lay there I let go. I can’t say there was any physical discomfort. My son said that I looked like I was having a message I was so relaxed. The truth was I was exhausted and that time on the couch doing nothing felt good.

I love my tattoo, which was inspired by a Valentine’s Card Steve had written for me at the Hospice. His handwriting was more untidy than normal, probably because he was so sick. However, all his punctuation marks were in the right place. Steve was so good with words, he also wrote poetry. I’ll share one of his poems one day.

I am so pleased with my tattoo. I’m always touching it, it's a way to connect with Steve. 18 months later I still think of him whenever I look at my wrist

Give it a Try

I’m not encouraging anyone to have a tattoo, it’s a personal thing and it’s with you for life but you could try a temporary Henna tattoo. There’s usually a Henna stand at festivals and fairs. Pick a design you like. Hearts and butterflies are popular but you could always ask if they can create a one-off design for you. I asked for a special design this year at one of the festivals in Ipswich. I wanted a heart with cracks running through it. This henna tattoo became the inspiration for a larger tattoo I had inked in Sicily this year. I’ll be writing a separate post about this tattoo.

Do you have any tattoos?

Would you ever get one? What would you have?

#MyPrelovedLife : 18/10/18