Done and done!
When we were newly engaged, we called it "The Sparkly." And for good reason! A women who saw my ring once said, "Let me have a look at that thing on your finger that just blinded me." My wedding ring is a gorgeous 1920's vintage art deco ring that come from an estate sale in New York. It has a bajillion diamonds and a large miner's cut diamond as the center stone. The center stone has a slight flaw just off set from the center of the diamond (I thought that would bother me, but it turns out that it makes it even cooler). It gives the diamond beautiful depth and dimension--which I think could be a beautiful metaphor for anything or anyone with natural flaws.
My ring is the best wedding ring in the world, just like my husband, and I'm not saying that just because they're mine. The ring is flashy yet modest, unique yet timeless, second-hand but so perfectly designed for my personality and style. It's a yellow gold, which I adore, and the diamonds are flush with the gold, so one day when I have kids I won't have to worry about poking their eyes out and scratching their cute little baby skin. So many girls and women have stopped me--in the middle of check out lines, parking lots, libraries, work, church, etc.--asking to see my ring. I'm grateful that it is one of a kind and that I was the lucky soul who found it first. (Do I sound conceded here? I'm totally bragging up a storm about my ring, but I totally love it in every way!)
During the near-engagement phase, Richard and I had gone to countless jewelers looking for the perfect ring. I hated all of them. Every single ring we saw made me want to vomit and then run to a tattoo shop and just get my ring permanently fried on my finger. I'm not a ring-wearer. I don't like spending lots of money of vain things either, and neither one of us had ever spent that much money on something so small in our lives combined. It didn't help either that both of us disliked sentimental traditions so much, especially the expensive kinds. (Planning our wedding was a nightmare.)
One day I wandered into an antiques shop hoping they had something worth looking at. It was the oddest shop. I felt like I had walked into some strange store on Diagon Alley. It was a cluttered messy shop, with nude french paintings in the back corner, a framed vampire bat skeleton leaning against the wall, old stained pioneer dresses on sad mannequins, and more grandma knick knacks than should be legal. I took a shot in the dark and asked the own if he had any diamond rings or engagementy type rings in the shop. I hit the jack pot. With a flick of his hand he squealed, "Oh, Honey! I've got just the thing!" A few minutes later he came back from his vault with cases and cases of rings--vintage, gorgeous, one of a kind, unique, make-your-heart-sing rings!
I ignored all price tags and picked our five that I liked. The glorious store owner set them aside for me until the weekend when I could bring Richard in and share with him my great plunder. Richard and I narrowed our choices down to two rings and I let him choose which one to get so it could be somewhat of a surprise. The whole two weeks after I prayed that he would choose this ring, and he did! God just has an appreciation for fine jewelry, I guess. I will also mention that the ring was a complete bargain. Second-hand shopping rocks!
It is the ring of my dreams, given to me by the man of my dreams. When Richard proposed he said that this was the first of many wonderful things that he wanted to provide for me throughout life. I'm happy just to have him. :) I loved today's (technically Thursday's) challenge. It's reminded me of how wonderful our courtship was and how totally spectacular our marriage has become. And now my sparkly is even sparklier.
I love this part of being a women.
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