The term ‘prized possessions’ always evoked an uneasy feeling inside me. it always made me feel like I was materialistic or self centered. This doesn’t help that my love language has always been gifts, but that’s a story for another time. If you’ve ever asked me, my most prized possession is not my beloved Pooh Bear that I’ve had longer than I’m willing to admit OR my expensive and unnecessary MacBook OR the beautiful, meaningful family pictures I have, but instead it would be one gorgeous, small thing- my grandmother’s ring.
This ring, although not extravagant, is one of the few things I still have of my grandmother. She was one of my original best friends (a close second to my own mom taking that role). She was the light in every room in every party. She could laugh and talk to anyone. She would share magical stories with me like what it was like to grow up on a farm in Bismarck, North Dakota or when she would hang out with her friends after school, or the time she first had black coffee and why she ‘had’ to have it that way. There are things she and I shared that no other cousin of mine got to have with her. I treasure every memory and moment I was blessed to have with her. This ring is all of these memories and moments wrapped up in one small, gorgeous white gold, citrine ring.
When I would wear this ring, I would imagine she was with me every step of the way. I would wear the ring when I knew I would need her the most. Like the day I graduated college or the day of a huge job interview. She would be with me and it was so incredibly helpful.
Recently, I took this ring, along with my 2 other important rings in my life, to get serviced at my local jeweler. This is something I do every 6 months to keep up with the maintenance of my other rings and this was the first time I was going to take it to the Jeweler to get cleaned and appraised for 4 prong fixes. The jeweler provided me an estimate and I decided in that moment I was going to hold off on getting it repaired. I decided I would wait and I wouldn’t wear it until I got it fixed.
Fast forward almost a week later, I’m talking with my boyfriend and I realize that I don’t know where my travel jewelry box is. This box had 2 bracelets and 2 rings: my beautiful birthday present from my parents and my grandmother’s beautiful ring. I immediately start looking for it and crying. I felt so pathetic because I was so worked up over a material item. Over a ‘prized possession,’ but my boyfriend didn’t make me feel silly or crazy. In one afternoon, he helped me turn over my entire apartment to look for this little pink jewelry box that held my memories/moments. After searching for what felt like an eternity, we found it in my car. Literally, the last place I would have looked.
I treasured and held this simple ring so close to my heart and just for those few hours that it felt lost for, it felt like I lost my grandmother all over again. I felt the heart break and the pain again. It’s been almost 12 years since she passed and I thought I was fine until I lost it.
But losing this ring was a lesson. I learned something about my boyfriend that I already 95% knew and believed- this man would move heaven and earth for me. He completely understood how hurt I felt when I couldn’t find the ring and he consoled me every step of the way, reassuring me we would find this ring and he would not stop until we did. And he did just that. He held my hand and my heart as we searched together.
Since finding the ring, I have put it in a special place where it will wait until I get it repaired. But I now 100% can confidently say that I have the partner I was meant to have because no man has ever loved or cared for me the way he does. I no longer feel foolish for having a prized possession.
