I really like your tattoo! The next one I am planning is paw prints as well. I will be getting Tbone and Tina's actual prints tattooed on me with their names. I just love them so much and they are such a big part of my life right now that I don't think I will regret marking them on my skin.
To everyone who asks if it hurts: Yes. It hurts. But I have about 25 hours worth of tattoo work done, and I don't think about the pain I went through to get them. I think about what they mean to me and how temporary the pain is in comparison to how permanent the work is.
Here is another thought I have, and I know that not everyone may feel the same way, but it is just an opinion. Tattoos may be permanent, but if you feel the way as I do spiritually, then you know that our imperfect bodies are just temporary to the eternity of our souls. So what we do here in our hundred years or less is only a glimmer in comparison to the journey ahead. In fact, that is what a lot of my tattoos mean to me: keep your eyes on the prize. Don't think of today, but of the goals for when we and this world will pass on. here is a pic I had taken a few years ago, it is not finished, but I don't have another grand to spend right now.
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I really like the post about the bird tattoo as well. I have a cardinal tattooed on my ankle that means the world to me, and I don't explain it to people I don't know. But my grandmother and I used to bird watch together, and I think cardinals were her favorite bird, so I got the tattoo when she was 10 years into her 14 year stint of alzheimer's disease. It may not be the best tattoo but it means more to me than any other tattoo I have. And my grandfather passed last year, and I intend to get another bird tattoo for him when I can afford it. The tattoos for pets and people you love mean the most I think.
Congrats on your cute new tattoo! I am glad you got something that means love and happiness to you. What a great constant reminder!