Naomi Weisman is a Canadian-Australian and mother of three, who loves to Ramble with her dog, cook for family and friends, and laugh whenever possible.
Growing up, tattoos were taboo in my family. They were something "other people" had—prison inmates, bikers, and troublemakers. Which makes it all the more curious that I spent years quietly fascinated by them.
When I was 21 and travelling through Thailand, I often found myself flipping through the photo albums in Bangkok tattoo parlours, daydreaming about the artwork I might one day have permanently inked onto my body—much to my parents' horror.
This went on for years. Even after getting married to a very conservative man and having three kids. Looking back, I don't think I was obsessed with tattoos themselves. I think I was searching for a way to express something I couldn't yet put into words.
Then everything changed.
In 2009, I met my biological family in Australia. Around that same time, I had a vivid dream that stayed with me.
I was raised in a very pragmatic family that didn't put much stock in dreams or anything "airy-fairy," as my parents would say. So when I had this dream, I couldn't quite shake it.
In it, I was a turtle on a beach, completely alone and hopelessly lost. I felt panicked until I spotted a group of turtles in the distance. The moment I saw them, a wave of calm washed over me. My heart slowed, and I knew instinctively that they were my connection—that somehow, they were what I had been searching for all along.
The dream puzzled me because I had always felt deeply connected to the family who raised me. I loved them completely and never felt that anything was missing. But after meeting my biological family, the meaning became clear. The dream wasn't about replacing one family with another. It was about discovering another part of myself that I hadn't even realized I had been searching for.
At that moment, I knew exactly what my tattoo would be.
In 2010, I found a tattoo artist who could transform that dream into art. The turtles became a permanent reminder of a part of my story I had finally begun to understand. To this day, I haven't regretted that decision for a single moment.
I would get another one as long as the meaning of it was profound and felt as much a part of me as my first one. My turtles are as much a part of me as my fingers and toes.
To answer the earlier question of why I’ve always had a fascination with tattoos, maybe there is an airy-fairy side to me that always knew what their importance could be.
The things that drive us to do things are interesting. What drives a person to permanently ink their bodies is so personal and individual.
Looking back, maybe I wasn't fascinated by tattoos at all. Maybe I was fascinated by the possibility that something deeply meaningful could become part of you forever.
Every time I look at those turtles, they remind me that our hearts can make room for more than one family and more than one place where we belong.
Perhaps that's what tattoos really are. They're not just ink on skin. They're stories, memories, reminders, and milestones. Every tattoo tells a story. Mine just happens to tell the story of finding another piece of myself.
READ MORE: Her Story, Ramblers Cafe.
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