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Welp, that's a wrap. 8 months. 5 trips to Austin. 18 hours of tattooing. Signature Tony Hundahl tough. Made at Rock of Ages.

I completely agree. I've only felt this strong reaction since the latest addition of the tattoos on my arm (the partial mandala). For the other tattoos, I've gotten them and felt excited for about a week and then pretty much forgot about them until they happened to show and seeing them made me happy.

This. My tattoos are just nice. I like tattoos, so I get them. They don't have to mean a damn thing. As @Hogrider said, you are not a good candidate for tattoos if you are obsessing, thinking, doing over, worrying, and creating drama over your tattoos. I get a tattoo, then I look forward to getting the next one. That's it. It's not world-changing. They are tattoos, they are optional, and I really think you should steer clear. It shouldn't be this hard. Honestly. The angst is unnecessary.

I had mine done in March. I think it took my about 4 months at least to let it settle. It was a bit weird at first to show it off in summer time when I went swimming. I always tried to hide it before but it would have been unfair to my kids to lock them in on the hot summer days and not go swimming. After all, I got some really nice compliments and it made me feel confident. It was a very emotional journey but those feelings that take over will pass. It really seems it's a very common feeling and other people reached out to me telling me about the same experience. I think it's just the mind that needs to adapt to the visible (but very nice) change on your body.

Don't do anything. Of your original 5 tattoos, you've had two covered up and now you are looking to do even more coverups. This is just a recipe for disaster. Your skin isn't a piece of paper, you can't just keep erasing and starting over. Every time you tattoo, laser or cover up, you are traumatizing your skin and creating more scar tissue. I have two sleeves, back, chest panel and a piece that goes up my right leg to connect with my back/chest. Not a single tattoo has any meaning other than I like the imagery. Just my opinion, but a lot of that 'meaning' nonsense comes from watching too much LA ink and these other tattoo shows where people claim this big long sob story about why they are getting the tattoo. Take some time, a lot of time, before you do anything; otherwise you're just going to make it worse.