Friday, September 02, 2005

Raiders of the Lost Ring


This Tuesday, Dan and I will celebrate our 2nd wedding anniversary. Since funds are tight at the moment (baby, mortgage, gas prices, a small crack addiction) we aren't going all out for gifts. When faced with the inevitable "What would you like for our anniversary?" I knew exactly what to say.

A little bit of background before I divulge my request. We moved into our home in April 16th. We welcomed our daughter, Aveline, to our family on April 21st. Not a whole lot of unpacking got done in that small amount of time. To add to our stress, I had been on bedrest since mid-March. Dan packed the entire apartment himself. We were blessed to have generous family and friends help us move, clean, unpack and paint. Through all of the chaos of major events, we lost one item, that had been placed in a small, white box.

A few weeks before the moving date, Dan began to pack the guest room. I had overtaken the guest room closet and dresser as my own. (Women always need more closet space.) As he was packing my underwear drawer, he came upon a small, white box. He held it up and asked about the contents. I advised him to open it and see.

The box contained my wedding ring and diamond engagement ring. I wore these two items faithfully since receiving them, until a few months earlier. So faithfully, that neither left my hand during the first month of marriage. Around December, my fifth month of pregnancy, my hands swelled just enough that I decided to place the rings in a safe place, rather than risk losing a finger to loss of circulation. I opted for my underwear drawer, because that is where most normal people stash important, close-to-your-heart kind of things. Periodically as my pregnancy progressed, I would open the small, white box and pull out its contents. I would marvel how the fit of the rings had changed. The day he packed them into a random box, they only fit my pinky on the left hand. The day I went to the hospital, his wedding ring barely fit my finger! Talk about fat phalanges!

He smiled as he gazed upon the symbol of our promise to each other. "I'm going to put these in a safe place, a box we know we will open first when we unpack." So he closed the small, white box and left the bedroom. When he returned, he said that the rings were packed.

Since that fateful day, we have searched high and low. We opened every box. We even looked in places that weren't boxes, like shoes, luggage, and bags. We have retraced our steps. We have revisited the thought process behind the packing. We have done everything short of diagramming and reenacting the entire relocation process.

The rings have to be somewhere in our house. No box was thrown away without a thorough investigation.

So when Dan asked me what I wanted to celebrate the survival of yet another year together, I think I asked for the impossible. I just asked that he find my wedding rings. I like having the physical reminder of our love and vows with me, within reach.

He began his search today. Let's hope he is successful.

4 comments:

Rae Ann said...

That's a sweet story! And I love the way you told it. The underwear drawer thing is so true too. I hope he finds your rings. I had to have mine resized twice in the midst of having 3 kids.

Laura said...

C'mon, Danimal... you can DO it!

Trevor Record said...

Ohh, I hope he finds the rings! But if he doesn't, I guess you still have eachother right?

Anonymous said...

They are somewhere, I know they will be found. Good Luck.