The Story Behind My Ring

If you saw my TEN ON TEN post, you might have noticed that the diamond fell out of my engagement ring on Sunday. I knew one of the prongs had been loose for awhile, but I checked every once in awhile and the diamond never felt loose. Then on Sunday, while I was driving home from the NUTCRACKER, I noticed it was gone! I had no idea when I'd last seen it and I was in a bit of a panic. Not so much because I was worried Brad would be mad at me for being so careless, but because he might think I did it on purpose!

You see, I've been kind of angling for a new wedding set for awhile now. I got married at 22. I thought it would be romantic to steer my future fiancé in the right direction and then love the ring he chose for me. I thought I wanted simple. I thought I knew what I liked.

I didn't know jack.

And then I got on PINTEREST and started seeing all those lovely, vintage-inspired rings all the young gals were posting on their wedding boards. I loved them. I wish Pinterest had been around back in the day and maybe I would have seen something I just loved. Also, I've learned in the last 11-and-a-half-years that I don't particularly care to have Brad pick out my stuff.

I've had several friends ask how I could give up the ring I was given at 21 by my future husband. This new ring won't have the sentimentally the old ring did. I disagree. This new ring will mean even more. I love Brad more now than I did 11 years ago. We've been through some pretty rough patches and emerged from the storm a stronger (albeit a more realistic) couple than we were before.  I know there are still storms to weather, but there are no words to describe how I feel about him and about our marriage right now. Mere words would only cheapen the emotion. He's more than my best friend. He's more than my rock. He's more than the amazing father to my children. He's more than a man with his own demons and baggage who looks to the Lord for strength and guidance and ways to live his life. He's more than a man with integrity and generosity and an amazing work ethic. This new ring will signify all of that. It will represent what we've become as a family. It will mean as much, or more, than the old one. Plus, it'll be prettier. :)

I'm not trading in the old ring or anything. I won't let Brad trade it in to get a better deal on the new ring (because despite all the great things I listed about him earlier, he's also a skinflint). I'd like to melt it down into a pretty pendant to give Phoebe when she turns 16. It will mean something to her like it meant something to me. A representation of where she came from and where we were.

I am deeply sentimental about things. Just look around my house at my great-grandmother's quilts and my dad's childhood gun rack hanging in my son's room (it now holds lightsabers) and my grandparents bed in my guest room. What we surround ourselves with tells the story of who we are. I believe that things are beautiful if you love them. Why would getting a new wedding set change any of that?

We won't have time to deal with all this until after Christmas. At the moment I'm sporting a cheap-o ring from a local costume jewelry store (think: Sam Moon) because I felt naked wearing just my wedding band. But I can't wait! I'm trying to find a free 30 minutes somewhere to just go look at rings and decide exactly what I want. It's kind of exciting! But I'm trying to be realistic because, really, where am I going to find a free 30 minutes 12 days before Christmas. But a gal's gotta have hope, right?

So keep checking my blog and my hand. Soonish I'll be sporting a new ring to signify an old relationship that always feels new. It reminds of the quote by Mignon McLaughlin

"A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person."