My First Tattoo (Throwback Thursday Edition)

So I decided to do another edition of Thowback Thursday.  I'd like to tell you the story of my first tattoo and how my mom found out about it.

So I have three tattoos and this is the story of my first one.  I was 20 and had been wanting a tattoo for awhile.  This was 20 years ago before tattoos became as popular as they are today.  I knew what I wanted to get, a shamrock on my ankle.  In fact what I wanted was a 3-leaf clover, not a 4-leaf one.  Many people ask me why not a 4-leaf for luck and my answer is always, I don't need the luck.  But truthfully it was something that I drew while listening to lectures in high school and college when I was bored.  So I drew it a lot.

My best friend and I went to a parlor downtown.   I drew what I wanted and in 20 minutes I had my tattoo.

Man my hair is super long there, makes me want to grow it out again.

I didn't get it right on the ankle, but a little behind it.  I don't know why and it's probably a good thing.  Everyone asked it it hurt.  Yes it did.  But not as much as it would have been right on the ankle.  The closer to bone, the more it hurts.

I really didn't tell anyone that I was getting this tattoo, except for my friend that came with me.  That night I showed it to my then boyfriend and he was all upset.  He didn't like tattoos.  I told him that I didn't get it for him.  He eventually came around to not caring.

Now my mom was interesting.  I wasn't hiding it from her, but I wasn't going to go out of my way to show her.  At that time I was living at home while I was in college.  My mom's room was at the end of the hall and when I was going from the shower to my room she noticed it.  She asked "what's that?"  And I was like all "what's what?"  I wasn't being sarcastic, but I had the tattoo for maybe a couple months by then.  She was like, "is that what I think it is?" and pointed to my feet.  I realized that she was talking about my tattoo then.  I said yes, would you like a closer look?  She said no and went on with what she was doing.

My mom had always said that out of all the things my brother and I have done in my life that she wished she could have done, tattoos were not one of them.  I have never regretted any of mine, but sometimes wonder what I was thinking.  They are all in spots easy to cover with clothing and they represent who I was at one point in my life.  Sometimes I think about getting another one, but that "it" feeling has not come back to me.  That feeling of knowing exactly what you want and where you want to get it.  I sort of think I want something of my running accomplishments, but nothing has come to me that I want on my body permanently.

Do you have any tattoos?  Did you have to hide them from anyone?  If you got (or have) a running one, what is it?