A Family Affair

by Dana Dunn
(Kansas)

My tattoo a few hours after I got it.

I was 35 when I got my first tattoo. I got it with my niece, Leslie. I am 4 years older than she is & we had always talked about getting a tattoo together. She already has 2 so it was time for me to step up. :-)

The tattoo has a double meaning. One that most would understand & one that is more for me & Leslie.

The most obvious thing is that it is a Shamrock & each petal is colored differently. One is green, one is white & one is blue.

The Shamrock itself & the green represent Ireland. The white & blue represent Scotland. (White & blue are Scotland's flag's colors.) This represents our Scotch-Irish heritage.

The second meaning is personal & simple. We are writers & often write stories together. Often times we go by nicknames. Mine is Ireland & hers is Scotland.

It might seem lame to some but it was perfect for us. It's something that most anyone who sees it will understand it, but it also has that hidden meaning that only me & Leslie share. One that we will always remember long after our creative juices stop flowing.