Calm in the Storm

Now, I'm no stranger to the place being packed. But yesterday was different in the fact that I was thrown into rotation to help. I had an appointment coming in at 3:00 and my mind had been wrapped all around it. Suddenly, I had to mentally shift and realign all thoughts towards a 1:00 tattoo.

It went something like this:

Crap. Ok. I've got to finish the outline, but I can do that later. Wait, when is later? So finish the one that just landed on your plate in record time and life will be good. A solid, quick outline. Oh, I've got to come up with an stencil for this new one... alright. I'm on that. Geez, I'm never going to be able to clean tubes. Well, never meaning today, right? Ok, so, knock the 3:00 out of the park in good time and you'll have a little left for tubes, grips, counters, stations, garbage, and straightening up.

It didn't shake me up really, but it was certainly a loop. Carol, our piercer, noticed my downward spin and told me to take a second to breathe. So I did. I closed my eyes and took a few deep breaths, inhaling deep from my diaphragm. It helped to stall my crazy train.

But during that process I forgot about tattooing—I didn't take being in the skin into account. Now that I can step back and see entire day, I realize the calm in the middle of my mental storm was actually the zone I go to while I'm in the skin. It made the hustle worthwhile.

It's like being a kid. Wearing yourself out to work your way up to the top of some wonderful hill. Everything for the satisfaction of being able to coast back down the other side.