Loaded question, because it assumes I want a tattoo — and honestly, I don’t. At least not in the usual sense. I have one tattoo, and I expect that will always be my only one.
Lizzi, on the other hand, has several, and each one tells a story. Her first was yellow roses with the scripture reference Psalm 98:6, honoring the memory of my mother. She had wanted me to get one for a long time, and for a long time I resisted.
Then one day I realized something. When I moved from the Atlanta area to Jacksonville, even though she always said she understood, there was likely a part of her that still felt like I had moved farther away than just mileage. A part of her may have felt left behind, even if she never said it that way.
So I agreed to a matching tattoo — with one condition: I got to choose it.
I found an outline of Cinderella dancing with the prince, stripped away some of the outer detail, and added the words: I will dance with Cinderella.
That song mattered to both of us. It captured something tender between a father and daughter that words don’t always express very well.
She picked the artist, and the next time I visited, we went to the tattoo shop together. About thirty minutes later, we walked out with matching tattoos.
Mine sits high on my upper arm where almost nobody sees it unless I’m wearing very short sleeves — or no sleeves at all. But that almost makes it better. It isn’t there for public display. It’s there because she knows it’s there, and I know she has the same one.
For someone who never wanted a tattoo, that one turned out to be worth it.
And no — don’t count on a second one.
Copyright © 2026 Doug DeBolt.
