Today was a pretty typical Thursday at work, for the most part. Vince was off, Adam is on vacation for the rest of the week, and Laura left at four. Mike had a couple of tattoos to do on these 17-year-old girls, so I was holding down the fort up front. And then, I did something I never expected to have to do - I dissuaded someone from getting a tattoo.
Now, I usually end up making a face if someone wants to get their boyfriend's name or something like that(we had a lady come in the other day asking about covering up two exes' names - and showed us two others she had already covered), but we don't really try to talk them out of getting tattooed. This was a little different, though.
You see, the girl who wanted the tattoo was four.
A couple came into the shop with their little girl, who had clearly been crying. The conversation went something like this -
Mom - "I was wondering...my daughter really, really wants to get a tattoo, and..."
Me - "Well, I do have some temporary tattoos, if she'd like some of those."
Mom - "Actually, she wants to get a real one."
Me - "How old is she?"
Mom - "She's four. Her dad and I both have tattoos. I just got another one, and ever since, she's been crying because she wants one, too. She doesn't like the temporary ones because they come off. She doesn't believe that real tattoos hurt. I thought it would be a good idea to bring her to a tattoo shop, so someone could tell her how it works."
Mind you, I'm usually not great with kids. This...this was kind of a special case, though. She was very shy, and still wiping away tears because she couldn't get a tattoo until she was a big girl. I walked around the counter and crouched down to her eye level.
"Have you ever had to go to the doctor and get a shot?"
She nodded, very slowly.
"Now, was that any fun?"
She thought about it for a minute, and then shook her head.
"Well, that's a lot like getting a tattoo, except a tattoo is lots and lots of needles...do you still want one?"
After a minute, she nodded.
"You don't want a tattoo. It hurts a whole lot. It's like getting lots of shots from the doctor. Maybe when you're a grown-up, you might like to get one, but I don't think it would be very much fun."
Her mom asked again, "So, now do you want to get a tattoo?"
Finally, she shook her head "no". I handed her a couple of the Halloween tattoos we had at the counter, and blew up one of the Silver On The Mount balloons we just ordered(we have a helium tank and everything). Needless to say, Mom was very grateful for the chat I had with her little girl. That kind of made my day.
Now, I usually end up making a face if someone wants to get their boyfriend's name or something like that(we had a lady come in the other day asking about covering up two exes' names - and showed us two others she had already covered), but we don't really try to talk them out of getting tattooed. This was a little different, though.
You see, the girl who wanted the tattoo was four.
A couple came into the shop with their little girl, who had clearly been crying. The conversation went something like this -
Mom - "I was wondering...my daughter really, really wants to get a tattoo, and..."
Me - "Well, I do have some temporary tattoos, if she'd like some of those."
Mom - "Actually, she wants to get a real one."
Me - "How old is she?"
Mom - "She's four. Her dad and I both have tattoos. I just got another one, and ever since, she's been crying because she wants one, too. She doesn't like the temporary ones because they come off. She doesn't believe that real tattoos hurt. I thought it would be a good idea to bring her to a tattoo shop, so someone could tell her how it works."
Mind you, I'm usually not great with kids. This...this was kind of a special case, though. She was very shy, and still wiping away tears because she couldn't get a tattoo until she was a big girl. I walked around the counter and crouched down to her eye level.
"Have you ever had to go to the doctor and get a shot?"
She nodded, very slowly.
"Now, was that any fun?"
She thought about it for a minute, and then shook her head.
"Well, that's a lot like getting a tattoo, except a tattoo is lots and lots of needles...do you still want one?"
After a minute, she nodded.
"You don't want a tattoo. It hurts a whole lot. It's like getting lots of shots from the doctor. Maybe when you're a grown-up, you might like to get one, but I don't think it would be very much fun."
Her mom asked again, "So, now do you want to get a tattoo?"
Finally, she shook her head "no". I handed her a couple of the Halloween tattoos we had at the counter, and blew up one of the Silver On The Mount balloons we just ordered(we have a helium tank and everything). Needless to say, Mom was very grateful for the chat I had with her little girl. That kind of made my day.
1 comment:
This was GREAT!
I am an artist and mom of three who has ALWAYS, ALWAYS wanted a tatoo....
My children are horrified at the notion, I jave NO idea why...almost everyone they know (adults) has one...
My oldest son actually said, "But then you might start smoking or wanting a motorcycle or something!"
This is also hysterical b/c NO ONE we know smokes OR rides motorcycles!!
HAHA Thanks for sharing - it was a great story!!
Post a Comment