I Do. I Did. I Will.

My ring is done! Quite awhile back, I noticed one of my diamonds was missing from my wedding ring. Not the main one, mind you, which was a relief. However, at that time, I noticed my band was coming apart, and the prongs were worn down. I had lost and gained weight so many times that my ring didn't even want to come off anymore! So, I put the ring in a safe place and wore my bare finger around in sore disappointment.

I hated looking down and not seeing my ring where it belonged. I wasn't afraid of being approached at the grocery store by some single dude. The thing I feared most actually happened when Steve and I went to lunch at Big E's one day. The server asked if we wanted separate checks!! Oh, no! My bare finger and I were having lunch with a married man! And who knew whose married man he was, right?? So, then I became aware that I needed a ring on my finger to make me feel married!

I picked up a cheapie ring at Penney's one day, as we were heading to a wedding. Of all places to have a naked finger, a wedding is not one of them! So, why didn't we just go and get the ring fixed and prevent all this anguish?

I was afraid that it was going to cost a ridiculous amount of money, and it was around holiday time. I was feeling like I really shouldn't make my wedding ring a priority over the bills! Unlike the engagement, where Steve cared only about selling enough appliances to pay for this sparkly ball and chain. How things have changed!

We finally decided to take the ring in to the place where it was originally purchased to just see how much it would be to restore or replace. Steve planned a nice day of going to the jewelry store and to lunch, in the same town we spent our dating years. Well, we drove up and they were CLOSED!!

That is really what gets me about anticipation. It makes me wait!! So, finally we picked the right day to go and after looking at newer models, I found a new love for my banged up old ring. The ring that started it all. The one he scraped to save for. The ring that sat in his pocket for an extra day....

We laugh about this story now! See, Steve was always late picking me up and it drove me crazy! On the night he was planning to propose, he drove like a madman, trying to get to the jewelry store before they closed at 6. He was late getting out of work as it was, so he was in a panic. He made it there just before 6, and learned that my ring wasn't actually a ring. It was a loose solitaire! He freaked! The guy at the jewelry store felt so sorry for him that he agreed to stay late and mount the diamond for him. There was only one teeny weeny 110 pound problem.

I was at home, impatiently waiting for him to show up for our date! He didn't call, as this was before the cell phone movement, so I had no idea where he was. By the time he got there, I was more than annoyed with him. We went on our date as planned, didn't have the greatest time, and that was that! I chose that time to tell him that I didn't appreciate him being late all the time!

Imagine my horror when the next night I learned that the proposal I received that night was actually planned for the night before! Because I was such a grouch, I ruined my own special night!! And I've been paying ever since...no, I'm just kidding...

So as the sales clerk was pulling out ring after ring, showing me new cuts and sizes, my gaze kept going to my ring, sitting there on the counter. I was comparing each ring to my old faithful. The ring I gazed at for hours, the night I became a fiance. The ring I showed off to all my friends and family, even strangers at work! The ring that took me from single to engaged. Engaged to married.

I put on ring after ring and finally announced, "I just want my wedding ring, only fixed up a little. I can't imagine anything else." I think Steve breathed a huge sigh of financial relief on that one!

And so my bare finger and I await another proposal. I will paint my nails, do my hair, and be in a great mood. And when he asks, I will again say "yes", and smile as he places that ring on my finger again...

...even if he's late!