Buddha Belly

In the wise words of my hubby, but incredibly unwise words of nearly everyone else (Iman is excused): Buddha Buddha Buddha!

Check out my henna tattoo! Iman took this picture (of course - it's fantastic) when the henna paste was still on my belly. I love how it looks so striking, even if the paste is cracking. I find it stunning. Strange, but stunning.

I have to say that getting a henna tattoo was one of the more bizarre experiences I have had. The lady who did it was more hippie than anyone I have ever spent time with in the past. It looked like it had been 10 years since cutting her hair or even shaving. She didn't wear a bra and wore a long flowy skirt. She was nice enough, but could have used some deodorant. She handed me the tube of henna and asked that I say a prayer to tell the henna what kind of experience I was requesting from it. I silently told the henna that I just wanted a tattoo and wasn't looking for anything more serious out of our short encounter with each other. For the next hour, she painted on my belly, which in itself was a strange feeling because no one has ever done that before.

I showed her some pictures of tattoos that I liked, pointing out that the spirals going to the belly button called to me. She agreed that they were powerful images. I also told her that I liked trees. So... you see the result. I love it!

Baby loved it too! The henna had eucalyptus in it, and though I don't know for sure if that's what caused it, the baby was suddenly more active and strong than I have ever felt to this point. Of course, Ms Henna Lady attributed it to the magic empowering nature of henna and claimed that this will definitely give the baby a head start in life. Ummm...

All in all, I like the tattoo a lot but I've discovered that working with a bunch of engineers makes it hard to find people to show off my belly to. And I'm glad that baby is active, don't get me wrong, but the idea that a henna tattoo will give my baby a great head start in life doesn't mesh well with my own engineering mindset.

Happy tattoo everyone!