Dude.

James came into my office after school and rushed over to my desk, pulling up his short-sleeved t-shirt to reveal his shoulder. "Look what I got last night!" He showed me this huge tattoo that covered the top of his shoulder (this isn't a picture of him, but I found this on the Internet and it looks just like it - I think his might have been bigger though.) It was red around the edges, being as fresh as it is and all I could say was "Geez! Did it hurt??" His response was, "Dude." (In case you don't know any teenaged boys, that can mean any number of things, but in this instance, I interpreted it to mean, "shit, yes!!")


I asked what his dad thought about it and he answered, "He doesn't know yet... I told him I had something to show him and he couldn't get mad. He said okay." I asked why he didn't need parent approval since he's not 18! He said, "Seriously. I know a guy." Oh... well of course he does...

I guess when you've gone through hell with your kid and he's still standing, a tattoo is small potatoes... I sure hope his dad thinks so... because he's getting his other shoulder done as we speak.