Roger's dragon

Roger was really, really into the martial arts.

It was something he even mentioned in his profile entry on match.com.

I can't say I was initially impressed. I was actually a little worried. Karate is for kids, right?

But after three years, I was impressed at his dedication and how much he enjoyed it.

Through his study of martial arts, Roger also had a thing for dragons.

There used to be millions around our house.

All sizes and all styles and all colors and all materials.

He swore he didn't buy most of them, however, it was a bit much for my taste.

I let him keep some of the cooler ones around and put whatever else he wanted in his bonus room or in his office.

"You can put that any where you want in your rooms dear"

Before our wedding, Roger had decided he wanted to get a new tattoo.

This time he really wanted a dragon.

But we were having trouble finding the perfect dragon that he really liked.

Some looked too evil, some not detailed enough, and some just really ugly.

Finally at MegaCon (No, I did not attend and Roger did not dress up), he found the perfect dragon. It had a naked girl riding the dragon but otherwise it was perfect.

So we started thinking of where and how to put this fantastic dragon at.

After some thoughts, Roger decided to put in on his chest. For all his qigong, he wanted to have a little guy meditating and then out of the guy's mind the dragon's tail would appear above him like a dream. The dream would turn into a real dragon that would twist and turn around his chest and end up on the other side of the guy. It was going to be big but it was his thing so I agreed. People wouldn't see it all the time and as long as it was artfully done oh well.

We put it on the "after wedding" list of things to be done.

After Roger's death, I decided that in honor of him, I would place the tattoo on my body instead.

Not in the same place of course, but somewhere fun.

He would always be with me. A visual reminder to say he wasn't gone.

A reminder of how he used to tell me all the time "I'm always with you."

"No, you aren't"

"Yes, I am. If I close my eyes, I see you thus I must be with you"

Oh my, such a philosopher...

A few weeks ago, I took the drawing to a local tattoo artist and he drew it up for me.

On Tuesday, I went in to have Roger's dragon tattooed onto me.

I decided I wanted it to have green eyes like Roger and I wanted Roger's wedding band to hang off the end of the tail. I also decided he should be blue-ish green color.

I also put it on my left hip area since this is closer to my heart and the side of the body Roger was most injured on.

Fat Bill at Inkredible Ink did an amazing job.

Its a little bigger than I orginally planned but I love it. And now its the perfect size.

It took three hours, my feet falling completely asleep several times, and a very uncomfortable sitting position (Sitting on one stool with my butt hanging off the stool and out of my pants bent over onto my elbows onto another stool - fun times).

It's gorgeous. The detail is amazing.

And as Courtney said, "Roger would totally think this is hot!"

And I know she's right. He would be so impressed.

Yes, it was painful, but it was worth it. I didn't cry until the end when I realized that I did it.

Roger will always be with me. His dragon and all.