I credit several people with my tattoo. First Katae, who made the whole thing happen and gave me a forever birthday gift. Next my husband, who puts up with this manifestation of a midlife crisis. My daughter Tory, whose trip to the parlor (do they call it that anymore?) got us talking about matching tattoos. My son’s swim coach: imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. And finally, my dear friend who I never thought would get a tattoo, got one. I’m such a follower.

In college, Katae found her love of ink and piercings. When she and her roomies got bored, they wouldn’t go to a movie or play a violent game of spoons like my generation. Nooooo. The way to combat boredom in the new millennium is to whimsically get permanent marks scribbled onto your flesh.

What could be more special than mother-daughter matching tattoos? Our ink is in the same place and consists of the same words—each with our own flair. My “flair” caused the tattoo artist much consternation and at one point he sighed and said, “I’m just going to wing it.”

I be like THIS IS A PERMANENT THING, DUDE. NO WINGS. GET THE PROCESS SHEET, THE RECIPE, THE POINT-BY-POINT DIRECTIONS. HAVEN’T YOU EVER HEARD OF MEASURE TWICE, CUT ONCE? But I kept my mouth shut because I was already becoming one of those people. You know, the one who shows up empty-handed and empty-minded, without a printed copy of exactly what she wants, the one who has only a hazy idea and let’s-spend-all-day-figuring-out-how-to-pirate-this-obscure-font one. That one.

Now I know why, when I went searching for script tattoos that wrapped, I found one. One hit. Do you know how many pictures of body art populate cyberspace? Should have been a red flag. When the artist warned me he would be getting frustrated during the stenciling phase, I started to understand: this was not the usual order. Of course. I’m one of those people who never orders a dish as it’s described on the menu.

Our tattoos are from Isaiah 43: When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, nor will the flame burn you. For I am the LORD your God. – Isaiah

Every time I look at my tattoo, I’ll think of Katae. And I’ll remember God and how He remade my life.