Shannon M
- Apr 13, 2022
- 3 min read

lucky 13 or unlucky?

How do you skip your 13th tattoo?

Lucky or Unlucky #13

An obsession, probably unhealthy. The thought of tattoos was with me constantly. I was worried about number thirteen.

As the smartphone became more popular, digital pictures made it easier for me to document my tattoo experience.

Several years have gone by and I’ve move to Connecticut. I guess I’m older and wiser now?? Actually, I’m just not sure where to put my next tattoo. I had also decided that I didn’t want some random design chosen from pre-drawn designs.

I was hesitant to get tattoo #13. Part of it was the, “unlucky 13”. The other part — I wanted this one to mean something. After much thought and creative workings, I decided I wanted an outline of a butterfly, the American flag, and a pair of eyes.

The flag represents my career in the Navy. The butterfly represents a transformation —the one I went through during my time in the Navy. The eyes say that I see all.

I got tattoo #13 in October 2004 in Connecticut.

I do not have a standard Navy tattoo, but it has a lot of meaning to me. My military service was a difficult time as I was one of a small number of women in the Naval Nuclear Power Program. I was scrutinized, singled out, harassed, bullied, and more. The butterfly, flag, eyes tattoo encapsulates my perseverance and eye-opening journey.

Number 14

This next tattoo was collaborative and deeply meaningful. My sister had the idea of a family tattoo. I think she wanted to find a way to connect with me on another level. We thought to include our mom almost as a joke, thinking mom would never get a tattoo.

Our mom surprised us by not only considering the idea but going along with it and actually being a bit excited to get a tattoo. Three of us collaborated for a while to design a tattoo that represented all of us.

The design we finally decided on included an element that represented each of us. We each got the same design tattoo on our right shoulder blade.

Oh, but we each changed the design just a smidge…

We got this tattoo in August 2006 while I was at home on vacation.

Number 15

It would be almost eight years before this next tattoo.

One reason was because less than a year later, I was honorably discharged from the Navy and got married to the most selfless man I have ever met. He was NOT obsessed with getting tattooed. So, as we built our lives together and as civilians, we concentrated more on everyday life and less on body art.

After I had our son, I couldn’t help but look at myself and think, “I have to make a mark!”.

I knew that I wanted to design a special tattoo for my son – that no one else had. I was done with random designs. I also wanted a design that you could tell was for a child or newborn…It took a lot of crazy ideas, but the artist was able to make a design I loved.

On my birthday the year after my son was born, I got #15 in Connecticut. This is one of my favorite tattoos. Although, what it to follow is remarkable…