The Wedding Ring Saga...

(This is a ring, but not the original as it is 500 miles south of here.)

 

Among my mother’s possessions, my son found a mysterious ring.  It is 18k white gold, thin, faintly beaded at the edges.  I did not recall my father wearing it, although that remained a possibility. I believe it was his wedding ring, probably purchased for the wedding but not worn again, as he didn’t ever wear a ring. It looked more like a ladies ring but my mother had told me once it was my fathers.

My son liked it as a remembrance of his grandparents and wore it on his right hand ring finger.  It was most notorious for being the ring that he gave his infant son to distract him while I he changed his diaper.  My grandson promptly put it in his mouth and began to choke on it, which led to an ambulance being called.  He was fine (it being, after all, a ring -- with a big hole in the middle).  It went through his digestive tract and was recovered from his diaper some days later.  It sat in dish soap for a few days and was returned to its rightful place on his finger.  It’s been there for over 15 years.

A couple of weeks ago my son was washing dishes and didn’t realize the ring had slipped off his finger.  He discovered it when he turned on the disposal and heard the crunching sound.  He was distraught to find the ring fairly mangled.  He set it on his dresser and proceeded to mourn.  It was missed it both physically and spiritually but he never told me about it.  The indentation on his finger did not wane and was a constant reminder. He also had a bit of phantom ring syndrome.

Then, the other night, among his birthday gifts from his family, he found the ring, entirely restored. His wonderful wife had taken it from his dresser and brought it to a jeweler.  They did a fantastic  job – they could not replicate the beading, which is now missing from some edges, but that is not noticeable.  It is about the most wonderful thing – up there with his Top 100 all-time song favorites and his ultramod-13 inch B&W molded plastic bubble TV as all-time great gifts. 

So the ring is once again in its rightful place – having survived twice after wallowing in mashed up food.  The mystery of its origin remains, but it sure is great to have it back where it clearly belongs.