Thursday, February 19, 2009

Past, Present and Future.........

During David's recent port visit to San Diego,
he stumbled upon this ring in a jewelry store.


He said that when he first laid eyes on it
he thought of me.
He knows I like things that are a little bit unique,
has some character to it,
is representative of something personal to me
and tells a story.



This ring reminds me of my original wedding ring
which has grown thin
and has lost two accent diamonds over the years.
That ring had one center marquis stone
much like the three in my new ring.



He bought the ring in San Diego
and had it sized and shipped
to a jewelry store here in Washington.
It was important that I go pick it up and try it on
before the window to return it for a full refund closed
in case I didn't like it.
Unfortunately, that window would close
before David would return from deployment,
so he wasn't able to see my face when I saw it.
I think I actually squealed right there
in the jewelry store!
I thought it was so beautiful
and I was so proud of him
for doing such a great job of picking it out!
For me,
the three center marquis stones
represent past, present and future
or in my words,
learning from the past,
embracing the present
and anticipating the future.
See, told you I like things with a story!



Here's another fun story:
Since I had not seen the ring
before I went to pick it up
and was only relying on David's description of it,
I decided to use that situation to my advantage.

I picked up a ridiculous fake ring at the Mall
and planned to convince him
that this was the ring I received from the jewelry store.



We had spoken on the phone several times
and I kept telling him how big the ring was
and how I was not used to wearing something so large on my finger.

I was trying to play up the hugeness of the imposter ring
so he'd buy my story.
When we went to pick him up last week,
I flashed my big fancy fake ring at him
and asked him if he liked it.
He wasn't buying it.
I stuck with it though
and asked him if it looked different on my finger
than it did in the store.
Not at all falling for it,
he kept asking where the real ring was.
I think I had him for half a second
when I told him that we needed to go back by the jewelry store
and find out what happened.
For the first time I saw a bit of worry in his eyes
and He said,"Are you serious?!"
I couldn't hold it together any longer
so I just started laughing
and handed him the black velvet ring box
which held the real ring that he had chosen for me.

He slipped it on my finger
as I sat there grinning ear to ear
like a giddy school girl.



You know,
he gets to display all these shiny medals,
bars and awards on his uniform
so that everyone can see how awesome he is at his job.
It feels great that he wanted me
to be able to display something shiny and beautiful
on my finger to show the world
how much I am loved.



My mom says
that every man wants to be able to put a big, dazzling ring
on his girl's finger.
I think she's right,
but I also remember feeling very proud
of the tiny little marquis
in my original wedding ring.
That wedding ring was representative
of our tiny little idealistic view of our life together.
Our love was true,
but our life together had just begun
and was untested.
Everything was fresh and new
and could all fit in that little marquis.
But now, after almost 17 years,
we've experienced so much more of our lives together.
That same love has grown deeper.
It's been tested by disappointment,
conflict, struggles,
deployments,
collicky newborns,
two year olds,
boisterous kids,
and teenagers
and has come out bigger, shinier
and more dazzling!
Thanks sweetheart
for picking out a ring that is
so perfectly representative of our love story!

I love you,
past, present and future!





17 comments:

Cheryl said...

What a perfectly perfect story!

Anonymous said...

How beautiful!!! And what a nice surprise.

Jordan and I were just reading your post and we think you write beautifully. Have you thought of becoming a writer???? Seriously, cards, love stories, etc.

Lisa

Tonkamom said...

What a beautiful ring, and very sweet story!!

Kim said...

Becca this post made me get all teary eyed. Beautiful ring.

Mari said...

((sigh!))

Holly Anderson said...

Love it, Becca! You'd better hold on tight to him, girl.

Mama Kautz said...

LOVE IT!

Mama Kautz said...

LOVE IT!

Laura said...

Gorgeous ring! and I must add...you have seriously gorgeous finger nails! I've been trying to get mine to look like that LoL.

Seriously sweet story, and I always love coming to your blog *hugs*

Anonymous said...

Touching and sweet story, and a beautiful ring.
Ala. Grandmother

TheCatLord said...

that's soooooo sweet!
man, that dave's a keeper!!

Anonymous said...

You go Dave-o, you guys have 12 years on us but hoping that we are as happy and in love as you two are when we hit 17 years! Love you guys

Jessica

jonahbonah said...

what a sweet, sweet story!!!

Whimsy Portraits said...

Cherish each other. Wishing many many happy days ahead for the two of you...seriously Becca and David - you two just inspire me.

Eileen

Tammy K said...

gorgeous ring Becca! You've got a keeper. :-)

Cristie :) said...

OH MY GOSH I CAN'T STOP THE TEARS!! Again...beautifully put words! My absoulute favorite was when you talked about comparing the ring to his shiny medals...and showing the world your love. SERIOUSLY...like at least 10 sets of tear drops on my keyboard!!! I also think it's because there is a ring story in my marriage and it just hits home for sure. I of course would NEVER be able to word it all so elegantly! Well done...to you both!:)

Juls said...

OK, I can't say no fair because I'm more than sure that you deserve it, but seriously, I'm bawling right now. (stupid pregnancy hormones). At just past 3 years, I can't imagine what year 17 will bring, but I hope I have a teary story too.