Hannah has a tattoo in memory of her late grandfather on the left side of her stomach. Hannah explains that her grandfather was an airline captain, so the tattoo was designed with “four stripes [to] represent the stripes he wore on his epaulets. The flowers are sweet peas, which was the term of endearment he called me. The merging of the stripes and the sweet peas represent the bond we shared and remind me that he will always be a part of me.”
The tattoo works to maintain the bond between Hannah and her grandfather. She says, “It brings me peace to feel like a part of him is close to me, literally etched on my skin. He will age with me, and every time I see my tattoo, I think of him and I smile.”
STORIES FROM THE SKIN 