Janee's Tattoo Story~

Janee~

I met Janee one summer at Inn on the Beach in Harwich Port on the Cape in Massachusetts. Inn on the Beach is owned by my friends Deb and Joe Curran, who generously invited me to stay for a couple of nights and enjoy the beach. Janee was working as a receptionist. I noticed her tattoos, and she agreed to share the stories behind each one.

Tattoo stories~

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My first tattoo was the heart on the small of my back.  I was roughly 33 or 34 years old.  My sister and I had visited tattoo parlors locally to "look" at potential designs....two complete novices.  We always looked and left, never making an appointment.  It was almost as if the intrigue was met with a visit and then we were able to let the idea go.  For a while.  I forget the actual events that led us to Great Island Tattoo the day that we finally got our "first ink"....it was my sister  (Jen), my best friend (Melissa), and myself.  We grew up together....we were (and are) all very close.  Melissa and I were just off of divorces that were emotionally draining.  It was almost a time to document with a tattoo.  My sister chose the design and the placement.  We all got the same thing in the same spot.  I am a long time needle phobic...so I was pretty nervous.  My sister went first...then me...then Melissa.  I remember the music--screaming heavy metal--as I felt the first scratching of the needle.  It hurt and I recall feeling so flushed and waiting for it to end.  This tattoo means a lot to me because the three of us are forever close and connected and it's a nice reminder of that.

My second tattoo is the butterfly on my foot.  I went in alone...no appointment and they were able to take me straight away.  Someone extremely important to me calls me his butterfly...when we first met I was finding my wings and letting go.  We lost contact for a little while and I got the tattoo during that time. In a very fairy tale way we are together now and are madly in love...and I am still his butterfly.

My third tattoo is the three stars on my right shoulder....they represent myself and my two beautiful children Carlee and JR. They are my stars that make me shine. 

My fourth tattoo is a design on my left shoulder.  I had seen one on a gal I used to work with in that same spot.  I wanted something open and airy ...like a vine.  I find that people love this tattoo.  It's very pretty placement and a lovely design.  

My fifth tattoo I got with my daughter Carlee.  She wanted her first tattoo to be a dream catcher.  We have spent a lot of time in Arizona.  We had recently had a very spiritual visit to Sedona, so it felt fitting.  She got hers done near her 18th birthday... a beautiful dream catcher on her rib cage.  A few days later I had the artist recreate one of the feathers from her dream catcher and had that one feather tattooed on my rib cage.  It is one of my favorites.

My sixth tattoo was done on a whim with my dear friend Paige....we had both had trying years for similar reasons and we decided to get small heart tattoos on our wrists.  She is one of my favorite people...it was a lovely afternoon together.  

As I am partial to odd numbers as opposed to even I intend to get at least one more very soon.