first personAt 65, I acquired a tattoo to remind me to maintain making an attempt new thingsJanuary 25, 2023

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Seniors are both utterly ignored or handled like youngsters. Qualifying for seniors’ reductions shouldn’t be one thing I used to be wanting ahead to and so turning 50 was my life’s nadir. I’ve distinct reminiscences of that chilly, wet, depressing August day with many unfulfilled desires and self-imposed expectations.

After that unforgettable expertise, an interior voice instructed me that I wanted to take management of my future. 13 years later, throughout a street journey with my son and his companion, I innocently promised to get a tattoo once I turned 65. I needed to problem myself to remain younger at coronary heart and this tattoo was going to be the start of that odyssey. Appeared easy sufficient on the time.

Many people have made guarantees that we didn’t hold, however this one felt completely different. In my coronary heart, it felt like the appropriate factor to do. I’m not a threat taker by nature, however this appeared like a threat value taking.

I had a lot of time – over 18 months to design a superb tattoo, the right design for my soon-to-be senior self. However what tattoo to decide on and the place to position it grew to become nearly each day obsessions. What ought to it characterize? Ought to or not it’s flamboyant or refined, black or multicolored? The place ought to the tattoo be on my growing older 65-year-old physique? The traditionalist in me agonized over the choice.

I mirrored on the occasions when I’ve discovered probably the most serenity in my life, and that has all the time been whereas I’m outdoors birdwatching. This ardour started in my youth rising up in Victoria. My mom liked to be out in nature and a household buddy additionally launched me to the wonders of the outside each weekend. I’m happiest pretending to be a naturalist both in my yard or whereas travelling around the globe. However to be clear, I’m a birdwatcher – not a critical birder and most actually not an ornithologist.

Nevertheless, the flexibility to pursue one’s passions typically will get placed on the again burner. Schooling, work, marriage and household all got here alongside and took their rightful locations in my life as I progressed from younger maturity to center age. At 65, I hoped to be freer.

My shut family and friends had been incredulous once I talked about that I used to be getting a tattoo. Many recommended a chook because the pure selection. Family and friends would ask naively, “What’s your favorite chook?” which is a bit like asking somebody to choose their favorite youngster.

The unique concept to get a tattoo got here in a second of pure enlightenment once I appeared again at my life journey. I related all of the threads of my previous and had that “Aha!” second. That occurred once more once I selected a design.

A deadline has all the time been an amazing motivator for me, and ultimately, I remembered the flags of my alma maters, the College of Victoria and McGill, as each have a chook on them. That chook that I used to be so comfortable to find was the martlet, and it isn’t one which can be discovered on any birder’s life record. The martlet is an English heraldry image: a chook that has no toes, it doesn’t land and all the time seems in flight. It appears like a swift, a member of the Apodiformes order, which suggests “footless” in Greek. It represents the fixed quest for information, studying and journey. It additionally represents exhausting work and perseverance. Eureka! A effective message for my 65-year-old self that life is supposed to be embraced regardless of how outdated we could also be. I had discovered the right tattoo!

I appeared for a tattoo parlour that was clear and respected and was referred to at least one, not 5 minutes from the place I dwell. I had pushed by it many many occasions however by no means imagined going inside as a shopper. I made an appointment for my sixty fifth birthday.

When that day arrived, I fleetingly apprehensive that I used to be making a giant mistake, however I had made a promise to myself that I supposed to maintain. My son dropped me off, and the artist spent the subsequent hour drawing a gorgeous martlet on my left shoulder. Ache from the needle was much less of a problem than the neck cramp from having to put susceptible whereas the artist poked dye into my pores and skin. Because the indelible ink dried, all of my worries vanished.

The expertise was profound in so some ways. I used to be happy with myself for doing one thing so outdoors of my consolation zone, forcing me to problem my biases and face my very own fears. The tattoo is giant sufficient to get a response from family and friends however sufficiently small to not entice an excessive amount of consideration. Reactions to my tattoo highlighted the era hole: My nieces and my sons all mentioned it was lovely however just a few from my era mentioned issues equivalent to, “Oh it’s so massive!” or “I’d by no means get a tattoo!”

However I see the martlet, an historic heraldic image, as an embodiment of my previous, my current and my future. It jogs my memory to proceed to dwell life as an journey, to not let worry hold me from a problem and to continue to learn. With each birthday I set new challenges for the 12 months. With the ability to sit up for the subsequent birthday is a joyous factor certainly. I plan to maintain on doing so, till my martlet lastly stops flying and lands.

Linda Slocombe lives in Calgary.