When I was in high school and my mother said she wanted a tattoo, I promised that one day I would go with her.

The plan was to get matching tattoos.

For years I was able to put it off with excuses like I wasn't sure what I wanted or that I didn't have any money.

One day, I finally put my foot down and said I was going to be unique and not get a tattoo at all.

Then this year her birthday snuck up on me in the middle of exams and trying to graduate from East Carolina University.

I didn't even have a card for her. Damn it, I'd have to get the tattoo.

I was comfortable with the matching white roses she had talked about getting for the last five years. That is, until she informed me that we were getting dragonflies. Why? Apparently she's been obsessed with them ever since she saw a particular Kevin Costner movie, "Dragonfly." In it, he receives messages from his dead wife through the flying insects.

I was dreading the idea of being 70 years old and sporting a sagging arthropod on my body, but anything for family, right?

A friend of mine with a large, detailed tattoo on her back said she would never get inked by anyone other than the crew at Garry's Skin Grafix and Daily Reflector features writer Kelley Kirk-Swindell said Caroline Hedgepeth, an artist at Garry's, was the best. So, naturally, that's where I went.

Hedgepeth's been inking at Garry's for 11 years and has an insane amount of awards.

At conventions, her work has received at least 14 plaques and 14 trophies. So even if I didn't really know if I wanted a bug on my back the rest of my life, I knew it would be pretty.

When I walked into the Memorial Drive location for a consultation appointment, I had no clue what I wanted other than it needed to include a dragonfly. Ten minutes later, Hedgepeth had drawn a design that my brain could never have conceived.

The big day finally arrived, May 5, and I made my mommy go before me.

Yeah, I was scared — I thought I was developing an ulcer. I had never even seen anyone get tattooed before and really wanted to see if she screamed. She didn't, but she did tear up and wince more than once.

Some people say they get an adrenaline rush from the needle. Once it was my turn in the chair, I gripped my seat in pain each time Hedgepeth crossed over a rib. It wasn't so bad the whole time, though, and it was definitely worth it. It wasn't until after a few days of constantly applying ointment and rubbing off some minor rough areas that I realized just how much detail she had put into the wings.

My mom is so thrilled that she constantly reminds our family she did it and that we must bury her with her tattooed ankle outside of the casket — so everyone can see.

I'm still not sure how long it will take me to realize that the dragonfly isn't going to just fade away one day.

I do know that it will always be a reminder of the close relationship I have with my mother.

Contact features write Kristin Day at 329-9579 or kday@coxnc.com.