Thursday, February 18, 2010

Amanda Moose

Shhhh. I have a secret.
Well it's not a secret really, at least not when I'm wearing short sleeves.

I love tattoos.

Yeah that's right, I'm one of those cool, edgy moms that shows up to her kids parent teacher conferences with my ink a blazin'. Actually that's a lie. I usually wear cover up for those, but not much else.

I only have 3 tattoos right now, but surely if I could I would have them all over me; lots of beautiful art marking my body. But alas tattoos are expensive and I'm a frugal mom with a tight budget. But still, a girl can dream.

Tax returns, the one and only time of the year when I can splurge are here. This years purchase, the same as last years in fact, was a new piece of ink.

Long long ago I used to be Amanda Moose. When I was a kid I hated, loathed, despised, and any other negative adjectives that you can think of, that last name. When I was young kids made fun of me. When I was a teenage most people called me by my last name and not my first. It drove me nuts. I used to joke around and say that I couldn't wait to get married and change my last name. And believe me, as soon as I said "I Do" that was the first thing that I did.

Being a girl with a last name like Moose is much harder than being a boy with that last name. My three younger brothers own their last names, especially now as they reach adulthood. I often find myself stealing their clothing, mostly the sweatshirts they get from the school for baseball or wrestling, or football, or whatever sport they are playing during that particular season, the personalized ones with their last name printed in big bold letters across the back. It's a lie when I say that I steal them because they are comfortable. Pulling on one of those sweatshirts is the only way that I can wear my former last name nowadays.

I had kicked around the idea of getting another tattoo for awhile now, because really once you get one all you want to do is get more and you start planning out what and where for the next one almost immediately. Ask anyone with a tattoo, they'll agree wholeheartedly, I assure you. I was talking to my younger brother Ron over the summer, the day after my mom caught me trying to swipe yet another shirt and jokingly said that I wasn't a Moose anymore, and said that we should get matching Moose tattoos. It all kind of evolved from there.

So away Ronald (the only one of my three younger brothers who is an adult and can legally get a tattoo on his own) and I went to the tattoo shop to get our matching Moose tattoos, his on his back under his left shoulder blade and mine down the back of my right arm.



All of my tattoos are significant to me, and to be honest I think that people who walk into a tattoo shop and point at a picture on the wall and mark their body with it because it's pretty are idiots. It's a permanent thing and should hold some sort of value to you, This one is probably the most significant of my three. I may not have Moose as my last name anymore, as I do so proudly have the surname of my husband, but I will forever be able to wear my maiden name and it will always be a part of me.

8 comments:

Alyssa S. said...

I love Moose...your name and the animal :) I can imagine it was not the easiest name to grow up with though. I LOVE the tattoo. I consider myself a pretty brave person, but ink has been my #1 chicken out. I desperately want one...I just don't have the guts to do it. I'm very afraid of needles! One of these days though.....

Jen said...

So what are you other 2 tattoos?? :-) I may get one someday and if/when I do it will have something to do with my 3 kids, but I can't decide what I want or where on my body I want it lol.

Oh Mandie said...

Jen, my other tattoos are a mehndi style heart on my right wrist. Its traditional for people of hindu faith to have them temporarily tattooed on them for their weddings. They symbolize the love and trust in a marriage. I thought that the idea was beautiful, and even though I am not hindu I had one permanatly tattooed onto myself. I also have a crescent moon with a shooting star wrapped around it on my right shoulder blade. I got it to remind myself to always "reach for the moon and even if I fall short I'll still lay amoung the stars" :)

Devon said...

WOW... that musta smarted... getting all of that filled in!!!

I have a tattoo as well... I would like to get another (like you did) to hold onto my maiden name "McPherson"... but we are a frugal household as well... AND... my hubby isn't too keen on the idea. So... maybe some day!!

Jen said...

Those sound pretty!

sprinkles said...

I hate my last name. I'm not married so I'm stuck with it. People mispronounce and misspell it ALL THE TIME! My first name too which is why I don't use it.

I love tats! So far I have 2 and want more. They're so addictive for some reason! Like yours!

Amanda said...

Hello. My name is Amanda Moose. Its funny I found this site because I was bored and decided to google my name. I am reading your blog and it insane how much I had in common. In elementary school they use to call me MOOOSE and then in high school they either called me Moose or Moosey. Its insane to find some one with the same name as me exceptally with the last name Moose.

Ritz said...

THANK YOU for this post! I had been toying with the idea of getting a moose on my left wrist for my 1st tattoo. I shared the idea with a few people who thought I was insane but now I know I'm not the only one :) Great minds think alike!