Rings

Lately I've been thinking about the rings that women wear and the stories that they reveal.

This is a picture of the rings that my daughter and her husband exchanged when they married.

In addition to my own wedding band and engagement ring I wear at least two other rings every day - my mother's engagement ring and her diamond solitaire. These rings became mine after my mother died and I am honored to wear them.

These two rings symbolize the commitment that my parents made to one another, but more than that they remind me of the integrity of my father. My father promised his bride three things if she would accept his proposal of marriage - a new house; a fur coat; and a diamond ring and he was able to provide her with all three of these things in time. My mom was a simple woman and on a daily basis she wore only her wedding band saving the other rings for "special occasions".

I sometimes wear a diamond and ruby ring that belonged to my aunt, and this ring too has a story. It was bought for my aunt by her husband as a gift to remember the diamond and ruby ring that belonged to her mother - my grandmother - that went missing from my mother's home some years ago. My grandmother lost her husband when her youngest child was just months old. She lived an extremely difficult life and this ring, given to her by her husband who died too young, came to my own mother after her death. I continue to hope that one day this ring is returned to me.

I see some women wearing her original wedding set on her right hand, and a newer flashier set on her left hand. These speak prosperity achieved as time has gone by and perhaps promises kept.

No matter what rings a woman chooses to wear, the circular bands tell a story and symbolize in some way the circle of life that we as women are an integral part of.