Tattoo and a boob job, or, "The Pastor with the Sunflower Tattoo"

One of my favorite ways to shock people is to tell them I have five tattoos. Jaws drop. "You don't seem the type," they say. Well, I may be fibbing, just a little. I do have five tattoos, but they are barely noticeable, because they are only tiny blue dots, which served as markers when I received radiation treatments back in 1999. (Or, when I was partying like it was 1999, I decided to get some tattoos.) There is one on my chin, one on each shoulder, one where my collar bones meet, and one on my sternum. (For the record, that is *almost* the sign of the cross. Pastoring has been in the cards for me for some time now.) I used to joke that if I ever had to get a mastectomy, I could say, "Yeah, I have a boob job, and five tattoos, too!" and then I'd really see the jaws drop!

Ok, so now I'm getting a mastectomy, and that thought was still sort of in my head. But what really brought it to the point it is now, which I'm about to tell you, is the process of nipple reconstruction. Yes, they do that, too! If a mastectomied (<-- not a real word) woman wants to look like she has nipples, which is important to some women, they can go back a few months after the initial surgery and sort of pucker up some skin, and then tattoo an areola around it to make it the right color. Cool, huh?

I feel no particular need to create a fake nipple, though. What's the point? The only people who would ever see it are me and Michael, and neither of us care. It won't be able to feel anything, as all the nerves will be cut. So I put the tattooed nipple idea out of my head.

But then I thought, why tattoo a nipple? If I'm gonna get a tattoo, why not something cool and meaningful? Then I got excited. As a bonus, it won't even hurt because I will have lost all feeling in my breast - I oughta get something good out of that! Michael had been talking all along about getting a tattoo on his chest on the same side I have to have removed (he said this to me the afternoon last summer when I told him about the first biopsy - "If you have to get a mastectomy, I will get a tattoo in the same place!"). We could be buddy tattoos, and go at the same time! Maybe a wedding gift for each other? So many possibilities!

So then the question became: what tattoo should I get? It was my uncle John who suggested what should have been obvious: a sunflower.

Michael and I have chosen sunflowers as our wedding flower. It started off because we both love them, they are bright and happy and not as often used in weddings, so it would be different. My mom also does a unit in her kindergarten class about sunflowers, and she is fairly obsessed with them and collects sunflower things. It is obligatory in my family to point out any and all sunflowers you may see from the road (best done while pointing and wiggling fingers in the general direction of the sighting... those of you who know my mom will understand). As we started doing some research, we found some other facts about sunflowers that sealed the deal. Here are some:

* They are named after the sun, a life-giving force.
* They turn their faces to the sun, the light.
* They are tall and remind us to keep looking up and standing tall.
* They offer nourishing food.
* They symbolize long life, strength, happiness, health, and hope, especially for those who walk with cancer. (One wedding website suggested they are a good wedding flower that can honor a loved one who has battled cancer - well, duh!)
* Their petals reach out, reminding us to do the same.

Now who can read all that and not say, "Girl, you tattoo a sunflower nipple on that boob right away!" Right??

Obviously I'll have to wait until I'm fully healed - 2-3 months. But even as someone who never had any desire to get a tattoo - I'm totally stoked about the idea. Now to find the perfect image, and the perfect tattoo artist... (Do you think insurance would cover this?)

Here's a start... something not too cute and cartoon-y, sort of vintage and a little realistic. (I don't even know what to look for in a good tattoo design!!)