3-13-2016

Doing Right

In 2012 I was incarcerated and got a tattoo, one which I was infracted for. I was the typical knucklehead who just wanted to get covered in tattoos and admittedly still do. However, I haven't gotten one since 2012 and won't until I am released and here's why.
I have three children and my youngest heard that I got in trouble for getting new ink work done. I then told my mother that the next one I was going to get was a letter that my oldest so sent me. It was the only piece of mail that I received from him and it said "One fish, two fish, red fish blue fish. Dad, I want to go fishing with you, love, your son." then he drew a little pond with a boy fishing with his father below that. Then, at the same time my other boy had a letter that said "dad, I love you, do you still love me? When are you coming home, when are you ever coming home?"
It broke my heart. By this time, I was already on my road to recovery and self-change and finding God. God was very much in my life. My plan was to forever remember those two precious letters by inking them exactly how they looked on my body. My youngest heard of my plan and then made it very clear how he felt about it. "Dad, why can't you do the right thing? You always do the wrong thing, just wait until you get out, then do it. DO the right thing"
That's the last I heard of my boy. It's his last request to me. So I promised Him through God, Jesus in fact, that I would do that. I would do the right thing from here on out. Out of the mouths of babes...I do it for him, I do it for me. I do the right thing now because my kids lost me. They didn't do anything wrong and when they see me again and stare me in the face and ask me what I did when I was gone...I will not tell them I did nothing.

I will honor my son's only request of me. 

Jeff Utnage 823469