what do you do when you have the day off and no plans?

If you’re me, which you’re not, but if you were, the answer is to get a tattoo.

I was sitting at home, and I thought to myself, “Eh, I don’t have anything to do this afternoon, so why don’t I call that tattoo shop in Ann Arbor and see if they have any free time today?” So I did, and they did, and I drove to Ann Arbor. I’d been thinking about getting another tattoo for awhile, kind of in an unfixed, conceptual way, like “Maybe someday I’ll get another tattoo.” And I had a couple of ideas in my head, but hadn’t settled on anything specific. And when I got them on the phone, they asked what I wanted, and I said a firefly.

If you know me, then you know my love of fireflies is enormous. They are my favorite thing about summer, and the reason why, when people bitch about this season, I want to question their sanity (well, one of the reasons). Are the neverending February nights full of magical insect-fairies? No? Your argument is invalid.

And since my dad died last summer, whenever I see fireflies, I think of him. I think of the night I found out he died, watching the marshy grassland in the park sparkling with fireflies. Since that day, I’ve been thinking of a way to do a memorial, and I have a bracelet modeled after his signature, but I wanted something I could carry with me all the time (I don’t wear the bracelet as much as I thought I would; the S in his name catches on everything). So yes, a firefly tattoo. Why not?

The artist drew it up for me, I liked it, and he inked it on.

It’s inside my ankle, right above my heel (a spot which, I have now learned, hurts like a sonofabitch to get tattooed). I love it. And getting a tattoo sure beats sitting at home reading the internet all day. So, all in all, a total win.