This Story Will Pierce Your Heart

(I work in a popular alternative clothing store. I am pretty accustomed to getting customers with tattoos and piercings, but usually when a customer is “new to the scene” we end up having conversations about tattoos and piercings. I’m helping a woman in her late 40s pick out some studs for her nose.)

Customer: “Oh, I like your tattoo! What does it say?”

(I’m very used to this. I have a large script tattoo that covers the entire inside of my bicep.)

Me: “It says, ‘If we’re stuck on this ship and it’s sinking, then we might as well have a parade.’ It basically means we are all here for now and we should enjoy life before it ends.”

Customer: “Oh, I absolutely love it! You know, I lost both of my sons and my husband in a car accident. I miss them so much, but instead of being depressed about it, I try to live my life by having as many good experiences as I can. I know they’d want that for me. I know since they can’t live life anymore, I should live mine for them. I actually just got my nose pierced and I got a tattoo, because I figured, hey, try everything once. And you, you’re still young. Before you know it, you’ll be as old as me. So, live your life as best as you can and enjoy it. And love your loved ones every day, and appreciate them, because you never know when they’ll be gone forever. I love that you have that tattoo; it makes me hopeful for you.”

(This lovely woman’s words have stuck with me ever since that day. She really warmed my heart and made me learn to appreciate my loved ones and new experiences — and my tattoo — more than I already do. Her kind words will stay with me forever. And I hope, if I never see her again, that she lives the rest of her life as fully and as happily as she can.)