Lost & Found

so i don't wear jewelery very often. for the most part, i like to sleep too late and when i'm getting ready to leave i'm usually rushed and don't take the time to pick out pieces to put on. bracelets, necklaces, and earrings especially. i have a few rings that i will wear when the weather is just right and when i'm a little more dressed up. that works out to be a few times a month usually.

the main rings that i have are:

1. my current wedding ring which was very inexpensive. and because i'm allergic to yellow gold and the platinum is wearing off on the inside to reveal yellow gold it irritates my skin if i wear it too often.

2. my sister gave me a whale ring for my birthday this year. it's very cool, but it has a sapphire stone that is set up on prongs so it catches on my clothes and hair. i have to be wearing just the right thing... nothing knit to wear it.

3. my wedding ring from my first marriage. this is a ring with quite a story. it's also the most expensive thing i own. (it used to be my motorcycle that was the most expensive, but that's depreciated and the ring has appreciated.)

so here's the story of the ring probably not nearly as briefly as it should be. my accountant dad had a client who owned a very upscale jewelery store that made pieces as well as sold retail. when steve and i got engaged, we went to see Ken Cornelius who had picked out a 1.25 ct F-stone marquis for me. my mom has a marquis, so it was perfect. he asked what kind of setting i'd like, and rather than look around at what he had i got a piece of paper and pencil and sketched something out. i had no idea i was designing it myself, but that's what happened. it's perfect for me because it's a smooth ring with no prongs or sharp edges to catch on anything.

so, steve didn't have the money for the ring at the time, and my dad paid for it with steve supposed to be paying dad back. in the end, steve didn't but i did. so even though that marriage ended, because i designed the ring and because i paid for the ring, i still wear it. when i wear rings. steve being dead now adds additional sentimental value too. (today is the day we first met, btw. July 3rd 1986.)

another reason i don't wear rings often is because when it is warm, my fingers swell and the rings feel tight and when it's cold (inside AC for example) my fingers shrink and the rings slip off. for this reason i end up taking them off and putting them in my pockets which is not a good way to keep them safe and secure and the point of this whole story is the fact that i discovered yesterday that my rings were not on my dresser like i thought they were.

i discovered this in the morning when i was getting ready to leave for work. i couldn't find them but didn't have time to look in depth. so i left and prayed all day that i'd find them last night, because i knew that God knew where they were after all.

after work, i could not find them. i searched everywhere at home. the pockets of everything i own with pockets, including winter coats and robes. i checked every drawer, on the floor, in the cooler, everywhere. no luck. i did pray the entire time, but it didn't entirely prevent panic and desperation from setting in. i checked the counters at my parent's house thinking maybe they were left there when i took them off to swim. nothing.

i was about ready to go to the pawn shop hoping that if they dropped somewhere in public the finder sold them and i could buy them back, when PRAISE GOD!!!! my dad found them under the bed in the spare room at their house.

Yay, oh, yay, Thank You Lord! Thanks, dad, too! and i promise to be much more careful about them in the future.

here's a very poor picture of the expensive one. i really should get a better shot for insurance...