35.

She would have been 35 today.  Amy, she would have been 35.  

And you know, it's sad.  It is a sad thing...a sad day, for John and Jennifer, for her family...for all that knew her.  But I am more sad for  anyone that never got to meet Amy.  She was amazing.  She was fierce, she was kind.  She was talented, beautiful, funny...she was so many things to so many people.  She was my best friend.

So on this day, while I am sad, I am celebrating the birth of such an amazing person, and the fact that she was in my life at all, however briefly. I feel lucky to have known her, to hear her laugh, to see her smile.

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I decided to celebrate Amy's 35th birthday in kind of an unconventional way, I guess- I got a tattoo.  Now, I have been thinking about getting a tattoo on my wrist for a while, and I was just waiting for the right time...turns out, that was today.  I decided to get a tattoo on my wrist today, in honor of my free-spirited, creative friend...who loved life and I have no doubt accompanied on this venture today. But first...some background on the actual tattoo...


I have a few reasons for wanting the word, 'Artist', on my left hand.  

I am left-handed, so every time I look at my hand- when I wake up and my hand is on my pillow (I sleep a little crazy)...when I am drawing..I want that constant reminder of who I choose to be- an artist.  That is the quickest explanation.

But there is more to it than that.  

When I think of Amy, and of my mother in law, Lucy who passed in 2005...the beauty of these two individuals reminds me to enjoy life, to live it to the fullest...and to make your mark on the world and to make an impact. What do the kids say now, YOLO?  Yeh, that.  My way to make a mark on the world is my art, even if it is a small impact.  The tattoo on my wrist is a visual reminder to be who I was meant to be and to CREATE. If you do only live once...and you don't know how long you will be on this world...then by all means...LIVE.  

I truly feel that art is what I am meant to do in this life, to be an artist, to make my art...and I don't ever want to forget that.  My grandmother has Alzheimer's now, but back in the day she was also an artist of sorts- she crocheted, quilted, did all kinds of what I now recognize as fibers.  Granny- well, she doesn't remember that she has this in her...and her fine motor skills are there anymore..but in any case, when I am older I want to see that word, 'Artist' and hope that it will remind me of what I have inside of me, the desire to make art.  I don't ever want to forget that.

And there is some thing special about the writing on my tattoo- it's Amy's handwriting, traced from old letters and cards...so that makes it even more meaningful to me.

So anyway...
rat-a-tat-TAT!  


Happy Birthday to Amy Elizabeth German!


I love you friend and I will never forget you, or me or us.