ISTM #49: The Lost Ring

(NOTE: I originally posted this on Facebook. The response was so strong and favorable that I thought I would repost it here as well.)

This is a tale about losing and recovering what you love.

When we first got engaged, I bought Paula a beautiful diamond ring. She loved it so much that she didn't want the additional band of gold for a wedding ring. The diamond one was all she wanted on her finger, and she had worn it for nearly 27 years.

Until one day, she looked down, and it was gone. Her fingers had gotten thinner, and she hadn't noticed, and that damned thing just slipped off.

Separately and together, we searched and searched every nook and cranny of our home and yard, our car, and our sink drains.

Nothing. Finally, we agreed that it was gone, and we both had to just let go. But each of us kept searching without confessing to the other that we were still looking.

Finally, we both separately concluded that the ring was gone and we needed to just get on with our lives, and we did.

As we got closer to Paula's birthday and our anniversary, I told Paula that I wanted to give her a new wedding ring. We were not in a position to match the quality and price of the diamond ring, but we would just go out looking for a simple band of gold.

We spent a few days shopping and found nice people and wedding bands at the Zales in our local shopping center, where a woman named Melanie (the same as Paula's younger daughter) helped us find one we both loved.

Paula's finger was sized, we paid for the ring and were told it would be ready in a few weeks.

At this point, this story should be ending, and it would not be worth sharing here on Facebook--except for the Miracle in the Costco parking lot.

That's where I arrived on a hot recent afternoon with three large shopping that I have been using for years, for no other reason than when shopping at Costco.

For reasons that I cannot explain, I decided to inspect the inside of one of the three bags: There, crammed in the corner of this 20-year-old shopping bag, was Paula's diamond ring.

The next day, the folks at Zale called to tell us the new wedding band was ready. They were very kind and returned our prepayment. They also resized the diamond ring, which earlier today, 2 days after our 27th anniversary, I put the ring on her finger with the loving words, "Don't lose it this time!"