One Ring To Rule Them All

Over a year ago, I lost my wedding ring.

This was no ordinary ring, of course--it was a Kovalick family heirloom. My great-grandmother on my mom's side had worn it her whole life, and then had passed it down to my maternal grandmother, who had kept it in her drawer because her finger wasn't small enough to wear it. My mother and my aunt both had larger fingers, too, but finally I was the Cinderella who came along and fit it perfectly. It was platinum with seven small diamonds, and was pretty much priceless.

I was having my engagement ring cleaned that week, and I never liked to wear my wedding ring without my engagement ring on top of it, since the wedding ring was always a little looser and I was worried about it slipping off. So I put it on a silver chain and wore it around my neck.

And then one day the chain broke, and I didn't notice until it was too late.

I cried for a whole week. I refused to get out of bed unless I had to go to work. I hardly ate. I sobbed in the bathroom at work. And I never saw that ring again.

Finally I just bought a cheap silver ring from Etsy for about $25. I've been wearing it since then, and I love it, but it's not the same.

Then last fall my dad's mother died. She was pretty old (in her late 90s) and pretty depressed and not entirely sure who anyone was at that point. It was sad, but not unexpected.

This week my dad went to visit his dad in Colorado, and came back with a box of rings. Apparently my grandmother left her valuable rings to my sisters and I in her will, and since I'm the eldest, I got her wedding ring.

It's huge.

The ring is actually two rings fused together--my grandma's engagement ring and wedding ring, soldered into one. Between this ring and my engagement ring, I now have seven diamonds on my hand--five small ones and two big ones. The big diamond in the heirloom ring is at least a carat.

I am probably the only homeless unemployed person in the whole world to wear a crown-jewels-worth of diamonds on her left hand.

I haven't decided whether or not I'll wear this new ring all the time, or whether I'll keep my cheap Etsy ring for everyday and bring out the fancy one for special occasions. But no matter what I do, I'm so grateful to have this ring--it feels, somehow, like a second chance.

Thanks, Grandma Walker. I miss you.