This Old Body (Decor)

to tattoo or not to tattoo? that's one reader's question

Welcome readers, old and new!

Please don’t forget to hit the ❤️ to remember that forgiveness—especially self-forgiveness—is an exercise worth practicing every day.

By the time you read this, I’ll be ensconced in my palm-sized apartment in Tokyo, trying to remember how the appliances work and what time the supermarkets open. My identity morphs from girlfriend ➡️ Grammie—a challenging transition as in Japan I’m usually the oldest person in the room, and my son is solicitous about my advanced age and safety to the point where I need to remind him (and myself) I can get along fine without supervision. (To his credit, I’ve required medical care on a couple of trips, first with a slipped disc in my back and then with a fractured ankle when I missed a step at my granddaughter’s gym.)

When I left the kids’ apartment one evening, my son called out, “Bye, Mom! Try not to break anything!” Knowing my visits are time-limited affects me on a meta-level, especially when M says with great affection, “Grammie, I’m glad you’re not dead yet.”

Me, too, Baby. Me, too.

🐉 🐉 🐉

An interesting question arrived from a tattoo-curious reader weighing the pros and cons of permanent body decor. I can’t imagine getting a tattoo, so I asked an astute beauty journalist who has been inking for years for her best advice.

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