Wednesday, July 2, 2008

It's Only A Ring?

Ok....I am guilty....it happened....I lost my wedding ring! While moving some sticks in the yard I was sweeping the grass with my hands...all of the sudden my wedding ring goes sailing through the air. Oh the horror. I was turned backwards and didn't see where it landed. If you have been to our yard you know that we have tons of greenery and finding it would be like finding a needle in a hay stack.

So as I am feeling bare without my ring I start to think.....why is it that ring so important? Here is a quick list of thoughts that went through my head....
  • It is the physical acknowledgment of my love for Stephanie
  • It was on my hand when I held my wife's hand as she brought our children into the world
  • It is a reminder of commitment
  • That ring has been on my hand for 7 years, and I want to die with that ring on my hand
So at this point I am officially sick......but I have a buddy named KP...and you know he always has a solution. In this case it was in the form of a metal detector. He brought it by and told me that he had no clue how to work it...but good luck..then he left.(thanks a lot pal) A quick trip to Wal Mart for batteries and I was out in the yard. Inch by inch I went until.......
....BEEEEP...I stopped...dug around...and.....I found it under some leaves..........WOW!

It is amazing that the simple little things in our lives can mean so much. I am very thankful that I get to wear that ring to bed tonight with my wife by my side. Something as small as a ring...can leave a huge void in your life. What are your voids????? They may not be as easy to fill as a ring lost in your yard...but it takes effort to fill them.....are you willing to put forth the effort?

11 comments:

TREY MORGAN said...

Man I feel your pain. It's like it's a part of your body, who you are. Mine broke in half recently and I had to repair it, so I didn't wear a ring for a month.

Glad you found it. Glad you have a friend like KP. Wish KP was my friend :)

Anonymous said...

You know I remember looking at wedding rings on men when I was growing up...and wishing and wanting for one. Because I knew then what it meant to have one. It meant that person had a wife who loved him the most....that is awesome you found it.!!!!

Anonymous said...

I know how you feel as well I have a ring set and can not find the back ring. I pulled them off to cook and never saw it again. It is too big to go down the sink, never the less I still have the front set of my ring but still feels naked. I don't know if we will ever find it. .....Glad you found yours. It is a piece of you and when it's gone, it hurts.

Charla (SHar-la) said...

First, I'm glad you found it! When I initially saw the topic of this post, I thought, "Well, now they're even!" :)

Richard did something similar. When we were living in College Station and I was finishing grad school at A&M, we were just newly married. He was working at TxDOT in Bryan and then also at a driving range in CS to be able to hit balls for free. One of his jobs was to go out into the range with the ball catcher and round up balls. Well, it had rained a lot in previous days and the range was muddy from the start to about 100 yards out. His ball catcher got stuck in the mud. He had was smart in that he took his ring off, but he didn't really have anywhere safe to put it, so he tied it to the drawstring in his shorts. Apparently, at some point, the knot came loose or got caught and his ring was GONE, in the mud, out in the driving range and he had no idea at what spot he lost it.
I nearly died when he told me. And I was logically thinking, "It's only a ring, it's only a symbol," but deep down I was so disappointed.
So, the next day he goes out to the range during the daylight and searches and searches through the mud and by the grace of God only, he FINDS IT!! I honestly couldn't believe it, but I totally understand your excitement and relief when you uncovered your ring in the leaves!

Charla (SHar-la) said...

Oh yeah...my dad lost BOTH his Aggie ring and wedding ring while he was throwing out carrots for the goats. He found his Aggie ring, but not the other. My mom said, "Figures." He got a new one and they renewed their vows when I was like 11 or so.

Anonymous said...

When I broke my arm and couldn't wear my wedding ring for months I nearly went crazy. Then one day I decided I was going to cram it on...only to have my finger swell miserably around the ring and then I couldn't get it off. I tried soap, baby oil, ice, you name it with no luck. When Skinner came home, I told him I'd done something really stupid, and I needed his help and not to chastise me. I showed him my ring finger, and he said he could cut the ring off - which he did. We went to the store that day and bought a replacement in a bigger size so that I would at least have something on my left hand. I remember telling the person helping us that it didn't have to be 14k because it was just a temporary ring. I didn't explain why it was temporary, but I had every intention of getting back into "my ring" as soon as I could. FYI, most school nurses keep a little file that they use when students get rings stuck. I found that out "after" mine was cut off with a pair of dikes!

Anonymous said...

Tucker, Tucker,
Yes I remember the conversation with Steph about what you said when she lost hers.....lol....
Well, it is a symbol, yet so much more. Think of all the good times you have had with Steph with that ring on and then all the bad times...In the end, that ring symbolizes the valleys and mountains you endured as a couple...

Also, people tend to lose their rings when they lose 30 pounds! So my advice to you: GO GET THE DARN THING SIZED! You skinny guy!

Amy said...

Loved this post!! I am so glad you found it.

Anonymous said...

Toby, I am so glad you found it- We have been there as well- only Tim has lost his twice -the first time he lost it was on the school playground walking the kids to school one morning He was playing like they were airplanes and it flew off. He called me at work and told me about it and was just sick, he said he looked but couldnt find it. he described where he was when he lost it So after I got off work I went to the school and crawled around on the ground for about 20 minutes --ureka!! I found it. That was 11 years ago. Then this past December, he was playing with our dog in the back yard he threw her toy and the ring went sailing. We looked until it got too dark and had to stop. Travis, Sam and I decided that we were going to find that ring it took us several days and everytime we could do so, without Tim knowing it we would search we finally found it -Since it was only 4 or 5 days until Christmas the boys wanted to surprise their dad and so we decided to not tell him we found it but give it to him as a gift- Tim was sick about not finding it and every afternoon would go out looking for his ring and we would help (couldnt believe the boys could keep a secret so good and actually played along) The boys really got into the spirit of the whole thing and wrapped the ring up in boxes from tiny to large ( I think they wrapped 10 or 12) and put it under the Christmas tree Boy was he surprised to have it back and the boys were so excited about being able to help find it. Since I have teen boys we are always trying to find ways to teach a life lesson and this was a great way to show how-- yes it is "just a ring" --but it symbolizes so much in our committment to each other and to them as our children in the expression of our love that is unbreakable- the fact that they wanted to be apart of giving it back to their dad made me proud cause they really GOT how much it meant to us to have our wedding rings.

Fun Family Fitness said...

I am so glad that you found it....thank goodness....now you know how bad I feel when I lost mine...and right now since I can't wear them...It kills me....love the post though...steph

Jody Piper said...

Okay - I am soooooooo bummed that I didn't even KNOW YOU HAD A BLOG!!!!!! But since I'm up right now at 1:00 in the morning with insomnia and am linking to other blogs from my dearest friends (the notorious Emma and Cowgirl)...NOW I've found you! So now I want to comment on your post about wedding rings...in the course of our 15 year marriage...Chad has lost two wedding rings. One he lost a gym where he had taken it off to lift weights and when he remembered he had put it in his sock...it was too late, it had fallen out and he had no idea where. The second one he lost in the flower bed of our home in Amarillo which was covered in vinca vine and we looked for days and never found it. The third one he was scared he would lose so it's in my jewelry box and then he wears the wedding ring that his Dad wore until he passed away and surprisingly he had held on to it. I feel the same one about the commitment and the symbolism, but I also lost the wedding ring that I wore (that had belonged to Chad's mother) in the last year, either at school or at home (and I'm still not sure that one of the twins didn't pick it up and "put"it somewhere (remember my school keys story?). So anyway...it happens to lots of good people, I'm just glad you found it...and that KP helped - it's good to know he's good for something. Glad I found your blog...now I'll leave comments all the time!