I was spontaneous this weekend. Not in a minor way either. In a permanent way. Those who know me know that I'm never spontaneous. I'm a planner. I have things planned out always ahead of time. I'm a control freak, and planning is in my nature. So, when I decided to do something completely spontaneous on a whim this weekend that would last a lifetime, Rob was shocked. Though I think he was shocked in a good way.

Last weekend my grandmother Eleanor would have had her 100th birthday had she still been alive. She died in October of 2007 at the age of 96 and I'm still not over that. On her birthday and on the day that she died, I'm always a miserable wreck. I'm depressed, I cry, and the wounds open fresh once more. Hell, there are some days when I cry just thinking that I'll never be able to see her again. Much like the rest of my close family, she meant a lot to me. I had been planning on visiting her about a week or so after she died, so when she died before that it was even more difficult for me to deal with.

And so, for some reason this year on her birthday, I decided to do something for her. Instead of crying and moping and promising to never forget her, I made that promise a reality. On a whim, I now have a very small Capricorn symbol (in dark red - garnet is January's birth stone) tattoo. It's on my right leg, just below my knee on the left side. It's small and only took about fifteen minutes to do.

I know, many people are rolling their eyes right now (hi Mom) and wondering what the hell was I thinking. Well, I wasn't thinking. I was going on pure emotion. After the fact, I couldn't be more happy that I did this. Now, every time I look at that tattoo, I'll think about her fondly. I smile when I see it. The ache and pain of losing her is still in my heart, but this makes it a little better. Now, I truly will never forget her.

I didn't have the time to get out to Galena and see Gary for this tattoo, so I did my research and found a place that's endorsed by the Health Department. Cleanliness is number one for me in a tattoo place, and I found one that's super clean. The artist was good (not as good as Gary, but then again, no one is) and since it was a simple design I wasn't worried. It looks great and I'm happy with it. Oh, and the artist said that whoever did my other tats was amazing. Yup, Gary is indeed amazing.

All my other tats will be from Gary and chances are I won't see this place again, but I'm glad I did what I did. I've also decided that on my Nana's 100th birthday (which I hope she is alive and well for) I'll get something small done for her as well. Hell, you only have your grandmas turn 100 once and I've always been very close to both of them.