A Most Unusual Christmas Gift

Lately, when I've asked my husband for some Christmas ideas, I've gotten a cryptic "Oh, I don't want anything, I'm taking care of myself" response. Hmmm...not the response I'm expecting.

And on Friday, during a snowstorm which took me 2 hours to drive home through, he went out and got his Christmas gift.

He got a tattoo.

He knows I'm not a big fan. But, it's his body and his choice.

He chose a design to commemorate his passion and success at marathon running. Running has truly transformed his life, all for the better. He is in incredible shape, has made new friends and has achieved challenging goals that other runners never attain during their peak running years. Not bad for someone who took it up just a couple of years ago.

Some time ago he found a tattoo design off of a website (damn that interweb) and took it to a local tattoo artist, who tweaked it to fit his body. He chose this particular tattoo artist because he'd read good reviews of her work and wasn't looking for a heavy-metal experience (curse that Yelp).

And on Friday, upon returning home from a business trip, he went and got his tattoo, telling me he had a different kind of appointment and would I please pick up the kids?

And I would have, except that a snowstorm kept me from getting to them. I spent two hours on the road, calling his non-answering cell about every 10 minutes, asking him if he was closer because there was no way I was going to make it there on time. I ended up pulling up to the school at about 6:15, 15 minutes late. They were the last ones there, sweating in their coats and hats and patiently wearing their backpacks, ready to launch out the door the minute I arrived.  For the first time ever, I was late picking up my kids. At least I could take consolation in the fact that I wasn't the only one who'd been late, and that some other kids had been picked up just a few minutes before I arrived.

We got home around 6:30 to a still-empty house - no husband. Was he stuck in a snowdrift? Had he gotten into an accident on the slippery roads? He arrived about 10 minutes later, looking sheepish and happy at the same time. And then, the unveiling.

It's a running stallion, bursting into flames at top speed.

I have to admit, it's a pretty cool design. It might grow on me - only time will tell.