The Blog with the Birthday

I am staring down the barrel at forty. In February. Six months away. But it's still STARING. And I like to be prepared.

I am actually looking forward to this birthday. Well in comparison to how I felt when I turned 30. When I turned 30 I had a slight meltdown. I had no idea why at the time. I now realise it was because somewhere deep in my subconscious I knew how dreadfully unhappy and unfulfilled I was in my life.

So what does a 30 year old unhappy working mother do? Why she rushes out and gets a tattoo of course! Didn't really matter WHAT the tattoo was but she sure as hell got her some nice ink!!!

The end result was a tiny rosebud surrounded by green leaves on the small of my back. I love it. My issue is that its VERY small and because I am over 25 and dont wear little hipster pants - nobody sees it. My other issue is that although I like the tattoo well enough - it really doesn't MEAN anything special to me. Its just a rosebud.

The thought occurred to me recently that for my 40th birthday I should get another tattoo. I mean why ruin a tradition that has occurred um....once?

So I googled. I love google. Google brings the world to my fingertips. Google had some wonderful tattoo information. Google has advised me of the following:-

"Within Hinduism and Buddhism the lotus flower has become a symbol for awakening to the spiritual reality of life. The meaning varies slightly between the two religions of course but essentially both religious traditions place importance on the lotus flower.

In modern times the meaning of a lotus flower tattoo ties into it's religious symbolism and meaning. Most tattoo enthusiasts feel that the lotus tattoo represents life in general. As the lotus flower grows up from the mud into a object of great beauty people also grow and change into something more beautiful. So the symbol represents the struggle of life at its most basic form.

Lotus flower tattoos are popular for people who have gone through a hard time and are now coming out of it. Like the flower they have been at the bottom in the muddy, yucky dirty bottom of the pond but have risen above this to display an object of beauty or a life of beauty as the case might be. Thus a lotus flower tattoo can represent a hard time in life that has been overcome."

If I searched the internet for the next five thousand YEARS I am not sure I would come up with something more fitting for me than the lotus flower. It's been a damn hard ten years and with my 40th birthday comes a sense of finally being on the right track.

So very soon I will venture once again to my tattooist - and her task this time will be to transform my rosebud into a larger and much more special Lotus Flower. Representing the ten years of soul searching and life changes I have made!