[Nevertheless] We Went

Some days you just have to do something out of the ordinary for a little mental health boost. This past Friday, I hopped in my van with my spouse and three teenagers, lots of food,saved Christmas/birthday/anniversary money, and drove to Vermont. In Vermont, we caught up with a friend, listened to good music, ate good food, played with a dog and a cat, and got some awesome tattoos in the process. It's wonderful to have a friend who is also a talented tattoo artist. 

This began as an idea my husband and I had - take a little day trip, just the two of us, and get the tattoos I've been wanting for quite a while and one for him as well. Then, we said, if we had an entire day to devote to this, maybe we'd invite the teens. And so, as it happened, Jake was free for the day and so were we, so the five of us headed to Bellows Falls, VT with more tattoo ideas than could possibly be accomplished by one person in a single day.

We stopped for cash, coffee, and gas before heading out. The large iced macchiato that I ordered may have been a mistake. I was incredibly grateful once we arrived at the Vermont Welcome Center. We were a little ahead of schedule at that point, and my body was very sore from two hours of driving, so we took our time, looked at the exhibits, caught some Pokemon, enjoyed the fresh air, and played with the singing drum before heading back to the car.
 

Once at Jake's we almost immediately got to tattooing. Haley was first. As we were preparing for my tattoos, we decided lunch was in order, so Jim and Haley headed to Smokin Bowls and returned just as we were finishing up my second tattoo. After a delicious lunch, I got my third tattoo, and then the battle of the bands began.

Zephyr and Finn, it appears, had the most frustrating of the tattoos...bands around their arms that struggled to meet up properly. I think Jake was very much relieved when those two were done. Finn went first, obviously not enjoying the tattoo experience like I do. Thank goodness for support people ... and dog. The cat was helpful as well...

While finishing up my husband's tattoo, I was just thinking that Jake must be exhausted and we needed to stop before we broke him, he said that this was going to be his last tattoo of the day. The older teens were disappointed, but it will just mean another roadtrip to see Jake will have to take place in the future. 

My husband's job loss was not in our plans. Tattoos were. We debated whether or not the expense was worth it. There were plenty of reasons to put tattoos off until another time, nevertheless, there were also reasons for this adventure. It turns out it was just the boost we needed after a week of resume writing, job searching, and trying to figure out where that job search should be focused. This adventure got us out of the quagmire of panicked what ifs and helped us begin to frame this new journey in a more positive way. Some of the money gifted to us for our birthdays/Christmas/anniversary (sometimes it's handy that they're all within weeks of each other) went to support a friend and his daughter, as well as provided us with wearable artwork and memories that will last a lifetime.