With This Ring
"For years it has done its job. It has led me not into temptation. It has reminded my husband numerous times at parties that it's time to go home. It has been a source of relief to a dinner companion. It has been a status symbol in the maternity ward." ~Erma Bombeck, about her wedding ring
My wedding rings have always meant alot to me. I can remember running to the jeweler three weeks before our wedding day to pick up my wedding band and taking it directly to my friends house to marvel over it. Plain gold, fitted to my engagement ring.
During the first deployment, I noticed my rings more than ever before. Before Vic deployed, my rings would catch my eye and I'd think how blessed I was. When Vic deployed, my rings would catch my eye and I'd linger there with them and all of the memories of our marriage. Six weeks into the first deployment I was having one of those harried days when nothing was going right. Our two youngest children were sick, the weather was crappy and I had too much to do for one day. I grabbed the laptop to do some work and realized that the children had plucked off two keys, the s and the j. The computer stared at me like a toothless person. Before I could lose my mind, I realized in horror that my engagement ring had also lost something. Two of the channel set diamonds that surrounded the emerald were missing. My engagement ring was also staring at me like a toothless person. I sat down in a heap and sobbed.
The loss of gems doesn't normally warrant such a response from me. At that moment, though, it felt as if my world was coming to an end. I needed my wedding rings for strength, I depended on those simple circles to keep me close to Vic, I saw them as the one thing that I had held on my person for every day since the day we wed. I did what any woman would do at a time like that, I called my mom. Two tissue boxes later and an hour of burning up the phone lines left me with the only thing that would make it all okay. I bought plane tickets home for the kids and I.
That first deployment I tucked away my original wedding set in a hope box and purchased an eternity band. Simple, white gold with diamonds in it. One ring, one circle, strong and simple. Vic and I emailed and talked about this purchase. From Iraq he helped me chose it and once I bought it I immediately took a picture of my hand and sent it to him via email.
Marriages are alot like the transformation of my wedding rings. You start out with one relationship, and through some beautiful times, and harried toothless feeling times, you become a completely different one. You start at one point together and when you get down the road and realize all you have been through, you know that the relationship has transformed. My first wedding band depended on my engagement ring to define it and reminded me of Vic's matching wedding band. My eternity band can stand alone and reminds me daily of all that we have survived apart and together. It reminds me of the young couple that started their marriage with amazing love and dreams and the seasoned couple who now exists. It reminds me of those falling apart days and those pick yourself up days and that 16 years later, the best thing I ever said was "I Do". One simple piece of jewelry that carries so much meaning.
My wedding rings have always meant alot to me. I can remember running to the jeweler three weeks before our wedding day to pick up my wedding band and taking it directly to my friends house to marvel over it. Plain gold, fitted to my engagement ring.
During the first deployment, I noticed my rings more than ever before. Before Vic deployed, my rings would catch my eye and I'd think how blessed I was. When Vic deployed, my rings would catch my eye and I'd linger there with them and all of the memories of our marriage. Six weeks into the first deployment I was having one of those harried days when nothing was going right. Our two youngest children were sick, the weather was crappy and I had too much to do for one day. I grabbed the laptop to do some work and realized that the children had plucked off two keys, the s and the j. The computer stared at me like a toothless person. Before I could lose my mind, I realized in horror that my engagement ring had also lost something. Two of the channel set diamonds that surrounded the emerald were missing. My engagement ring was also staring at me like a toothless person. I sat down in a heap and sobbed.
The loss of gems doesn't normally warrant such a response from me. At that moment, though, it felt as if my world was coming to an end. I needed my wedding rings for strength, I depended on those simple circles to keep me close to Vic, I saw them as the one thing that I had held on my person for every day since the day we wed. I did what any woman would do at a time like that, I called my mom. Two tissue boxes later and an hour of burning up the phone lines left me with the only thing that would make it all okay. I bought plane tickets home for the kids and I.
That first deployment I tucked away my original wedding set in a hope box and purchased an eternity band. Simple, white gold with diamonds in it. One ring, one circle, strong and simple. Vic and I emailed and talked about this purchase. From Iraq he helped me chose it and once I bought it I immediately took a picture of my hand and sent it to him via email.
Marriages are alot like the transformation of my wedding rings. You start out with one relationship, and through some beautiful times, and harried toothless feeling times, you become a completely different one. You start at one point together and when you get down the road and realize all you have been through, you know that the relationship has transformed. My first wedding band depended on my engagement ring to define it and reminded me of Vic's matching wedding band. My eternity band can stand alone and reminds me daily of all that we have survived apart and together. It reminds me of the young couple that started their marriage with amazing love and dreams and the seasoned couple who now exists. It reminds me of those falling apart days and those pick yourself up days and that 16 years later, the best thing I ever said was "I Do". One simple piece of jewelry that carries so much meaning.
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