Sentimental Solitare

We were young, broke, and in love.  My ring was very inexpensive, but I didn't care because it was what my young fiance picked out for me.  It was perfect in my eyes, small, delicate, and sparkling.  Her stats were 1/7th of a karat, wrapped around 10 karats of gold, and she found herself displayed in a Walmart jewelry case in Longview, Texas.  Through the years I've been asked by Shawn if I ever thought about a better ring...my reply was always no.  My mother-in-law would say, "When are you gonna have that son of mine buy you a new ring?"  My reply...Never.  "Well, what if you had them melt the gold and use the diamond in conjunction with another ring?"  No, thanks!  This ring symbolized what we were, where we came from, and who we'd always be...I never wanted a replacement.  

As I was passing out gifts to my family on Christmas Day, I was crushed when I looked down at my ring and saw the diamond gone!  As I looked a little closer I could tell that the prongs had seen better days.  It was my fault that I didn't take it in as often as I should of.  And, no, I never had insurance on the ring, either.  I didn't want to ruin Christmas, but I just couldn't hold back the tears...I was weepy, down, and depressed. The last time I glanced at my ring was a week earlier at the end of church during the announcements...the diamond could be anywhere, but we did look in a few places, even though it was like trying to find a needle in a haystack.   On the way home, Shawn and I began discussing what we'd do...did I just want to replace the diamond, did I want a new ring altogether...I really didn't know, but what I did know was neither of these options were going to make me happy.  As I type, I have my wedding band on still trying to resonate with all of this.  I'm thankful that our marriage doesn't depend on my wedding ring, and I'm thankful that we are more in love than we were almost twelve years ago...ring or no ring.  

I'm still experimenting with my camera and obviously haven't  even read the instruction manual, but you get the point.    There's a lot of dirt and crusted-over toothpaste down there.