I’m A Mom With Tattoos

A brand new year calls for a brand new series.  And not the kind that you sit back and watch on TV – it’s the kind that you will make yourself a good hot cuppa, get comfortable and read right here, every Friday.

This series is really just going to be about getting to know other Mom’s out there on the interwebs and the stories behind their tattoo’s.  I’m always interested to know if their story is similar to mine or completely different, whether they get any flack for being tattooed or if they just cruise along and nobody comments, not to mention just seeing the various art work people decide to permanently ink onto their skin and the reasons behind it.

So here we go…

• Your age: I’m the ripe old age of 27

• Your Occupation:  I co-own and manage an insurance brokerage in Cape Town CBD

• A Mom’s favourite thing to do is talk about their children – tell us about your family:  If you are new around here, you can flick through pretty much any of my posts and all you will see is our little family, but the short and the long of it is all right here

• If you work, tell us a bit more about your working environment – are you regularly in contact with new “clients/public”.  My job totally revolves around meeting new people every single day, some of them are potential clients and some of them are people with whom I need to create a good business relationship.

• Tell us a bit about your tattoos, what they are, why you have them, where they are located

At the moment I have three.  My first was Seth’s name and our wedding date that is written in his handwriting.  I know this is kind of a crazy first tattoo to get, but I also know that no matter the ups and downs we may face, we will always do life together.  There is no real way to explain it.  I love him with every bit of me and this was just my little way of showing it.  It’s located on the inside of my right arm, just below my elbow.

The second one is a cross with the word “GRACE” written through it.  I had been wanting to get just a simple cross on my foot for a very long time, but when it came down to it, I wanted it to be slightly more unique, which is why it kind of has a bit of a 3D effect – Seth actually designed it for me in AutoCad – how is that for a true Architecture nerd.  I got this tattoo because I believe that it is only by God’s amazing grace that we are saved through Jesus.  It’s located on the top of my left foot, off centre towards the inside of my foot.

The third one is pretty much brand new.  It’s three little hummingbirds in silhouette that have different colour wings.  Each one represents one of my children, Kyla (who loves yellow and pink), Riya (who loves purple and pink) and Knox (who just has to love blue and green).  My babies are as busy and noisy as little hummingbirds and I love them so very much.  It’s located on the outside of my left forearm.

• How old were you when you got your first tattoo  It was shortly after I got married, I may still have been 20.  I think I got it as my 21st present to myself.

• Which tattoo is your favourite and why?  That’s a really hard one.  I love them all and they all have a very deep meaning to me but I think I’ll go with the hummingbirds – I have always wanted a colour tattoo.

• Do you plan on getting more?  Absolutely!  There is no denying the bug that bites – not too sure where, but very keen.  (Sorry Mom)

• How do your family and friends feel about your tattoo(s)?  To say that my parents aren’t keen on it might be a bit of an understatement.  However, although they don’t really like it, they have always seemed OK with it after it’s done.  My friends have never had anything but positive things to say about them – I have really awesome friends.

• What is the general reaction that “the Public” have towards your tattoos? Have you run into any negativity or adversity because of them?  Honestly I think I get a fair bit of judgement from my fellow industry people.  I’ve spoken about it before, but the older generation of brokers out there just can’t seem to accept it.  Usually I have built a pretty good relationship with my clients via email and telephone before we meet in person and although I have got some side eyes, I don’t think I have ever lost a client because of them.

• Any advice for those interested in getting tattooed?  Please go to a reputable artist.  Someone who knows what they are doing, it is worth the money!  This is going on you for life – LIFE people.  You can’t have some mess to deal with or worse…

We have some really awesome Mom’s that will be sharing their stories in the coming weeks, so if you’re a tattoo fan, stay tuned!  Also if you want to join in on the action, pop me a mail (cindyalfino (at) gmail.com) and I’ll send you all the deets.