My Parents Wedding Rings

Last year, for my birthday I took my parents to the circus.  As I was driving us there, I told my parents, "This is the other way around instead of you taking me to the circus as a child, I am taking you guys." We laughed and recalled our humble childhood and closed the conversation grateful that we no longer live paycheck to paycheck... When I started this blog I lamented how I always wanted to have an heirloom passed on to me, but my parents had a limited beginning too. My mom often tells us (and I can hear the pain in her voice), "When your dad and I got married we didn't even have enough to take a single picture. During those times most people went without all the extras including rings."  Thus, when they had their 50th wedding anniversary I made sure to give them a professional photo session. It was such a heartwarming experiencing seeing them take those too long awaited photographs.

This Christmas, I was thinking what can I give them? Thanks be to God our fortunes have changed and materially we are blessed.  Then, I got this idea and I told my siblings about it and as a family we got our parents their wedding rings!  On Christmas Day, we were all so much more excited about what we gave then opening any presents.  When my mom opened her jewelry box and saw that she had both the engagement ring and wedding band that she had been secretly dreaming of (but never asked for) she leaped into my dad's arms like a lovestruck teenager.  My dad seeing her happiness wondered why we hadn't thought of this gift sooner.  And when you think that men are not into romance and details, let my dad's excitement when he put his band on be a testament that men are just as taken by traditional signals of love.  Unfortunately, we didn't get the right size rings and had to take them to the jewelry store to get them sized and we have to wait a few weeks to get them back.

I was sharing with a friend one of the best moments of my Christmas, and she was like, "so you married your parents there in your living room."  We of course didn't do that, but it was such a heartfelt moment to see these two lovebirds well over fifty years into their marital sacrament, look at each other with a love only stronger, deeper and most true - celebrate a ritual that had been missing, but never lacking has been their joyful-love and commitment for one another.  -- This year, I learned that while I have been making up all the things that I missed out on as an impoverish child, I can do the same with my folks.  I can help make their dreams come true, like a good fairy daughter (smile grande).