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.

5 comments:

Angie Ledbetter said...

It is interesting to see and guess what others' rings symbolize. I've got my small wedding set (made from melted down other stuff), my college ring and a mother's ring.

Pat's Place said...

Nice way to weave family stories around a common object--a piece of jewelry.

Joanne said...

I'm not a ring person at all, finding them distracting on my fingers. Only my wedding band, that's it. Maybe I don't want to reveal too much?

Terri Tiffany said...

I wear a simple wedding band and a mother's ring my husband gave me after my daughter was born. My engagement ring is a replacement because when we moved to our new home 20 years ago, I accidentally threw it out as the diamond had come off and I'd saved it in an old medicine bottle! My husband surprised me with a new one a few years later on our anniversary when he could afford it.

Sal said...

I adore rings and have many, but as with most folks, I have a particular favourite one which is very special to me.
Take care,
Sal