Back when I got my second tattoo, I said I will only get two tattoos. Why? Because all my tattoos are “mommy tattoos,” meaning, I will only get one tattoo for each child I bore.
But now I have a third tattoo.
Nope, I did not give birth again. Nor did I adopt another child. The thirs “mommy tattoo” is for me.
My third tattoo is beside the scarlet A, which stamps my status as an atheist.
My third tattoo is a phoenix. This mythical bird is a symbol of rebirth, and in a way, I have been reborn: I have given birth to myself, my creative self.
To all of you who are my age, something happens when a woman hits the 40s, right?
Something significant.
“You are now a mature woman!”
“You are going to hit menopause soon!”
“You are officially middle-aged!”
What do these statements mean? Specifically, what does it mean to me?
As I reached this age, I learned how to be a mother to myself. Paradoxically, I learned how to mother myself because I became a mom to my kids. A good enough mom.
My kids taught me how to nurture my talents and abilities.
Nurturing myself did not come naturally. It took me almost 12 years for me to mother me. I also had to wait for my turn. I took care of my babies from 0 to 12, and now that they’ve grown, It’s high time for me to “do me”.
So yes, this third tattoo is another “mommy tattoo,” proudly.
But my third child is me.
The featured image on this blog was AI-generated by me using free tools, namely ChatGPT, Canva, and Leonardo AI. I use these images to support my written content creatively and cost-effectively.
