Well, within 9 days I have been recognized 13 times on this island. I wasn’t going to count when the first few happened. I actually don’t expect people to remember my story from my 4 minutes of fame (if you can call it that) on LA INK, honestly. Yet, the reason I started counting was because people haven’t just been coming up to me to ask me if I was on the show, but have been sharing with me how inspiring my story was—and that is what has blessed me the most. That is the reason I really wanted to do the show! Well, and I knew I’d get an amazing tattoo too!
I got to talk to 2 young couples who are here on vacation who have struggled with fertility issues. One of the women told me that she didn’t know that adoption was really something for them, but once she saw me on the show, they have been doing research on adoption and trying to find what might be the best fit for them.
An older couple from Tennessee said they recognized me from the show because they are raising their granddaughter and she loves the show—they watch it with her to have something “cool” to talk to her about. Not only that, one of their granddaughter’s friends was recently pregnant and gave her baby up for adoption and, for them, I was the only “face” of adoption they had seen, so they felt great about this young girl giving her baby to a family who desired to have kids! They thanked me!
A 40-something couple didn’t recognize me, but they recognized K and asked if I was his mom. When I turned around and said yes, they saw the tattoo and both screamed at each other, “I told you it was them!”
A few people haven’t recognized me or K, but they recognized the tattoo and approached me to ask about Kat, the shop, and the overall experience.
I have had a couple of teenagers come up to me and K and just wanna hug him and that’s been sweet. It’s after they comment on him and how cute he is that they ask about my adoption and the experience of getting a tattoo by Kat.
One response I seem to get from a lot of people is how happy K looks—and that makes me proud. I love that he’s happy and that others can tell! He really is a happy kid.
I have been honored that people have shared their stories with me and that I have been able to share a bit of my story with others through this tattoo! That’s what it’s all about, right?
