With This Ring

Here, I talked about having my engagement ring and wedding ring cut off my finger. I hadn’t removed them since my husband put them on me 35 years before. In that post, I gushed about how, even though small and modest, they have great sentimental meaning. 


Only 2 years later I’m now very sentimental about the new engagement ring and enhancer my husband bought me for our 37^th anniversary. I was ashamed to admit that I found myself loving these much less modest rings with deeper emotion than when my husband presented me with the original engagement ring all those years ago. 


I never liked flashy things. Why do I constantly look at my new rings and feel more appreciated by my hubby? There’s no difference in our relationship.


The new rings are of a mature style-one I wouldn’t have chosen if my fiancé had the money in 1981 to afford bigger rings. Is that it? Did I feel juvenile wearing rings a teenager had picked out? Did I feel I deserved better jewelry after years of marriage? I’m a different person now, but that doesn’t have anything to do with jewelry. I shouldn’t need a fancy set of rings to prove to people or myself how much my husband cares for me. 


Before hubby bought these new rings, I had thought about what else that money could go towards: Renting a vacation house for a week of fun with family at the beach; Saving ourselves another monthly bill; Making an improvement on our old, needy house. I thought I’d regret the purchase. I feared guilt would attack me every time I looked at the rings. They’d be a reminder that so much money was spent on me alone, with no one else benefiting. 


Why do I enjoy these rings so much? They clash with my usual casual dress and require maintenance that my smaller rings never did. That means they come with responsibility during a time where I’ve been shedding responsibilities to simplify my life. 


At night, while sitting together watching TV, my hubby takes my hand and kisses it near the rings. He had taken a picture of my hand wearing the rings and showed the picture to people he works with. That’s when it hit me. The rings bring joy to him too. He’s planning to buy a matching ring for himself. And he doesn’t even wear jewelry. With tears of emotion I’m realizing that these seemingly shallow, unnecessary things are physical symbols of the precious life we have; A mature reality that’s beyond young love and bright hopes for our future. They represent materialization of those hopes and love. A reward for a job well done.