Go Ask Dad: Invisible ink?

Invisible ink?

My friend got her first tattoo, which is not newsworthy in this day and age. Except that this tattoo, an airplane on her left forearm, was a birthday gift to herself—on her 90th birthday!

She got a Cessna, a small plane, because she used to fly one in her youth. She gleefully showed her new ink to her granddaughters.

But why tell this story here at Go Ask Dad?

Soon enough, we will return to our regularly scheduled topics of children, including the delight and mystery that are the warp and weft of parenting. Kids capture our attention and inspire us with their delight tattooed on the moment.

But I wanted to shine the spotlight on my friend. She got this tattoo because, at her age, she often feels unrecognized, even invisible. She reports that many of her peers feel the same way.

I’m not dismissing the positive developments in the Western world regarding children’s rights. (We don’t want to repeat the history of sending our kids to work in factories.) It’s also true that many civilizations across time and space have valued their elders as part of the collective health of the community. American culture tends to prize individualism, self-sufficiency, and youth. Today, many elders are forgotten and — dare I say?! — warehoused in institutions. Granted, some assisted living facilities are very nice, such as the residence of my newly-tattooed friend.

But no matter where they live and under what conditions, no one should feel the need to get inked in order to receive loving attention. Everyone has sacred worth exactly for who they are.

Also, some of us are super squeamish around needles.

Of course, tattoos often make for stories. Stories are everywhere, and catching one not only opens our eyes but also helps us to see another human. My 90-year-old friend swings her arm, and the plane looks like it’s soaring through the skies. When she showed her tattoo to her granddaughters, “the kids thought it was pretty cool.” I totally agree.

Andrew Taylor-Troutman is the author of Little Big Moments, a collection of mini-essays about parenting, and Tigers, Mice & Strawberries: Poems. Both titles are available most anywhere books are sold online. Taylor-Troutman lives in Chapel Hill where he serves as pastor of Chapel in the Pines Presbyterian Church and occasionally stumbles upon the wondrous while in search of his next cup of coffee.