Baby Ring

A few weeks ago I was reading an article in Real Simple about objects. Several different writers wrote about some "thing" that was especially important to them and why. Of course every item was sentimental and had some meaning behind it, although few had any real monetary value. I knew right then exactly what my object would be if I was asked to write about something like that. Then today I read this blog about a woman's special post-marriage engagement ring and what it meant to her. How it is a symbol of the very difficult times her and her husband have been through, again I thought about my special object, also a piece of jewelry, and decided that I would like to write about it too.

I have a baby ring, when I was little I remember that my mom kept it in a ring box in her dresser drawer. I used to wear it on special occasions, like Christmas or for pictures, until of course it stopped fitting. I loved when I got to wear it because I knew it was really special. Somewhere around high school my mom let me have it and I put it on a chain...

I remember her telling me the story of the ring, how when I was born my Dad ran out to the store to buy me a ring so that he could be the "first man to buy me a diamond." I wore the ring around my neck all the time. During college my friends and I went to an event called Search, it's a spiritual/religious event. Everyone was asked to bring an object that was special to them to talk about. I brought my ring and when I told the story of how my Dad wanted to be the first man to buy me a diamond I made half the girls in the room cry. When I wear it people always ask me about it. I remember as a little girl thinking it was so special that I had this diamond, and it must be worth a lot of money! The diamond is so tiny you can hardly see it, mom said it probably cost around $100. I check it all the time to make sure the diamond is still there but sometimes I think it could have fallen out and I would never know.

When my Dad died in an accident 6 years ago I was afraid to ever take it off. I wore it all the time, and then the chain broke. It took a while to find a new chain that I liked, and that was strong enough I could wear it all the time again. On my wedding day I wore a little pearl bracelet with the ring on it, it was the most important piece of jewelry that I wore that day. I of course would be devastated if I ever lost my beautiful engagement and wedding ring, which are also so special to me, but I know I could replace them. I could never replace the ring my Dad bought me when I was just a baby.