Carol van de Laar (64) from Waalre received a special birthday present from her children four years ago: a very first tattoo. She had to think about what it would be, but it became the names of her children and grandchildren in Morse code. The tattoo represents a kind of new beginning for her. “I’m leaving the hard part behind me.”
At a young age, when she was 19, Carol had her first son. “Then I had a girl with Down syndrome. Then a foster daughter came into the house and I gave birth to my youngest son.”
Even though it was tough at times, Carol is extremely proud of her children. She now also has four grandchildren. “I have always had the need to carry something from my children with me. I had sometimes thought about a tattoo, but it never took shape until I received it as a gift. Then I started thinking about what exactly I wanted.”
Eventually she came up with the idea of having the names of her children and grandchildren written in Morse code. “I consciously chose this because I wanted to say goodbye to my parents and ancestors. I wanted to pay tribute to my parents, so that’s how I came up with Morse code. My parents went through a lot during the Second World War.”
“My grandchildren can be whoever they want to be and that is how I view the world.”
Carol noticed that surviving such a war means a lot to someone. “People who come from the Second World War with trauma are suspicious. They want to appear good and not stand out,” she says. “My children have broken through that in raising their children. My grandchildren can be whoever they want to be and that is how I view the world.”
Carol didn’t think the line with Morse code was enough. That’s why each grandchild also got an extra bird. “Because they live in a freer world. Every grandchild also knows which bird it is. And I hope there will be more grandchildren, but that remains to be seen,” she laughs.
“I really see it as a new continuation.”
Below the line and the birds, Carol wanted another mark that is always visible on her hand. “I looked for something that appealed to me and then I came across this. The tattoo artist asked me if I knew what it meant, but I had no idea. Then he told me that this was the sign of Unity in Diversity is. Well, that suits me perfectly!”
And so Carol had all her wishes recorded on her wrist forever. “I was very proud when it was finished. I really see it as a new continuation. I can leave the old and the heavy behind me. And I still look at the tattoo with great pleasure.”
