I’m finding I don’t do loss (or jewelry) very well.
I awoke. Sleep rolled in close, then swept back out.
Flibbertigibbet! I had to teeter.
It was dark, cold and all I wanted to do was tumble back to sleep. But no. The moment sleep’s fingers drew close enough to grab my consciousness, a tight bladder called me back.
Ugh.
I threw back the covers and stumbled to the bathroom.
There in the blinding light, wanting more than anything to fall fast asleep again, I glanced down at my hands.
DEAR GOD IN HEAVEN.
The ring was gone.
My left ring finger wore only a gold wedding band. My diamond solitaire ring and tenth anniversary band (the two rings had been attached to prevent just such a catastrophe) gone.
“John. John. John.” I ran in the dark toward our bedroom. “My ring,” I said with barely a breath — only possible by of a woman on the verge of a supernova panic attack, “it’s gone.”
The next few minutes were a blur of both of us waking up our minds and trying to figure out the last time I saw it.
The only thing I could remember was the night before. We had sat at the bar of a local restaurant. Another couple we hadn’t seen in awhile happened to be there. We laughed, had a few glasses of wine, ate a great meal . . . and I played with a big funky costume ring I bought at Target a few weeks ago. Moving it back-and-forth from one hand to the other.
Maybe in the midst of all that playing with my $7 ring I took off my diamond and NEVER put it back on?
In the early morning hours, I paced the floor and gnashed my teeth.
At some point my husband said, “I guess sex would be out of the question.”
I looked at him.
He answered, “We were both up. Just saying.”
I should never have nice things.
My husband had to agree. I’ve lost diamond crosses and earrings. The stone to my first engagement ring fell out. I wore my grandmother’s amethyst ring to a water park and cracked the stone so bad it had to be replaced.
But I’d never F**ked-up like this.
This was monumental. Was this punishment for trying to do too much? God saying . . . You can’t handle life Jamie.
The morning proceeded as usual except when I looked down to see my naked finger. Cue the shooting pains which tore at my stomach.
I went to church. I was fine till the sermon then I turned all weepy.
Who absentmindedly tosses away a two-carat solitaire?
I never wanted fancy things but one thing I always wanted was an engagement diamond.
When my husband proposed 25 years ago, I got one. A very tiny one. I never said anything. Not until one night many, many years later after too much wine. “I was disappointed when you pulled the ring out of your pocket.”
Horrible. Who tells their husband she was disappointed in the ring he picked out on his starting salary?
Me.
Then on our 20th anniversary, the diamond was my gift. I was blown away, utterly surprised. I loved it.
But I didn’t know how much until I looked down at my finger that Sunday morning.
Staring at a slim gold band surrounded by way too much old lady skin.
The ring I was going to give to my daughter. The one thing I could pass down.
Gone.
I still had no idea when it left my finger. The restaurant was only a guess. How could I be so unfocused not to know when a ring slipped off my hand?
The restaurant was closed Sunday and Monday so I left a voice mail and got busy with life until I could go there on Tuesday.
Sunday was a normal Sunday punctuated with jolts of how could you be so stupid after a glance down a my left hand.
Monday morning was the holiday. I’ll make pancakes. Be a blogworthy — albeit ring-less — mom and make the most of the holiday.
After the deed was done and dishes lined the sink, I looked to the floor. A dusting of flour ringed the range.
Sweep that mess Jamie. Hmph.
I got the broom, swept under the stove and looked back down.
MY RING!
Unbelievably my diamond lay there on the floor like it had plopped down off the clear blue kitchen ceiling. (Our kitchen does have a blue ceiling.)
I snatched it up and put it on my finger before you could say “I do.”
Texts of “I found my ring!!!!!!” rang out to all my friends. Friends who I couldn’t talk to about my misfortune the day before without breaking down.
That I found it while cleaning was like my husband pronounced, “Seeing Halley’s Comet twice in a lifetime.”
Coming to grips with the death of my father, I’m finding I don’t do loss well.
But I’m learning having loved and lost makes the finding so much sweeter.
WHEW! I wasn’t sure how this would end – glad you found it!
On our honeymoon, I left my new wedding ring on top of a campground paper towel dispenser. I had put it there specifically so it wouldn’t end up down the drain. Luckily, it was also out of sight enough that it was still sitting there waiting for me when we went back to retrieve it.
I’m happy that you got your ring back.
….also, I probably would have suggested sex as well, had it been my wife and I in the same predicament. Guess it’s a guy thing? 🙂
Glad you found your ring Ken. And yes. Total guy thing. And he did kept saying it was insured.
Thanks Gia. And honestly, it was a complete surprise to me how it ended too. A good one.
Hooray! Also, loved this line “A dusting of floured ringed the range.”
Oh oh oh oh oh!!!! My husband and I didn’t have a traditional engagement, so I don’t have a diamond ring. I kind of want one, but I’m afraid this type of thing would happen to me, except that I wouldn’t find it. I lost my grad school ring, which I hadn’t worn in years because I needed it resized. After I finally did, I lost it. I’m so glad you had a much happier ending!
Ugh, I live in mortal fear of a moment when I look down at my hand and my ring is gone. I know it’s insured and all that, but I don’t want a new one I buy with insurance money, I want the one I have, and all the memories attached to it. So glad that you found yours.
So glad you found it! I once lost one of the diamonds from my wrap-around wedding band. I’d only been married about a year and a half and was completely distraught. The stone was only about as big as half a grain of rice, but I was in tears until I saw it glittering on the kitchen floor.
Two years ago, I lost the other one and found it on the bathroom floor. CRAZY that I found diamond chips not once, but twice.
And many continued hugs for your dad. Grief sucks…
You had me in suspense the whole time! Nothing worse than that feeling of losing something important. I had once tucked an expensive (and sentimental) piece of jewelry in my purse while traveling for “safe keeping”- I then almost tossed it in the trash bin of a public restaurant when I was cleaning my purse out. I was on a train when I realized what I’d done, and it was sheer panic until I’d fleeced my purse and found that piece of jewelry was safe.
Holy cow! I was on the edge of my seat. That wasn’t just a small thing! Here’s to sweeping!
Whew! Crisis averted! We had a similar situation on our honeymoon, and I nearly had a panic attack – especially since my husband hadn’t insured the ring yet. Turns out I had taken it off to put sunscreen on, and I found it tucked in my pocket.
So glad you found it!
I’m so glad you found your ring, not because I had any personal investment in you finding it, but because I didn’t want the story to end on a sad note. The end was uplifting, the suspense throughout propelling me onward. I enjoyed reading the post.
This was a really good story from beginning to end. And suspenseful too! I loved that it had a good ending.
I am so, so glad you found your ring.
Like you – I don’t do jewelery well. My mom has given me so many nice necklaces and bracelets over the years. Always I end up breaking them.
I’m SO glad you found it! I had that feeling in my stomach for you.
Confession: I like that my husband picked out an emerald cut, but Ive always wished it was just a tad bigger. I’ve never told him and I feel bad for thinking it. I mean, he sold his motorcycle to get it. I’m not even all that into diamonds. But I do wish it was just a little bit larger. lol
Oh, I was so sad for you, then happy. I have to say that I love how you wove in both a sex reference and a church reference. SO well done.
Yay! So glad you found it! I would have been a mess too! It’s my worse fear that I’ll lose my engagement ring.
I can only imagine how frantic you were feeling. I’m so careful about not taking off my rings unless absolutely necessary. They are like a part of me now. So glad you found yours. Keep it safe.
I’m so happy you found it! That’s just awful. Why do men want sex 24/7 even at the most inconvenient times?
I’m so glad you found it! I once lost my ring and was devastated, but found it a few minutes later. It was loose and had slipped off my finger under a heavy box. After that, I went to the jewelry store and had them make it smaller!
You had me worried!! I’m so glad your story ended well. My hubby lost his wedding ring once, and found it almost a year later. He had lost it in packing up Christmas merchandise at the store he worked at, and a co-worker found it unpacking the same stuff at the next Christmas season – crazy!
I’ve uttered the phrase “I shouldn’t have nice things” and my husband has agreed too. I’ve also felt that horrible stomach feeling when I’ve lost something important. So glad you found your ring!
I’d ask you to marry me again in a heart beat.
After reading your post, I was going to tell you how I was happy you found your ring. Then I pressed the “leave a comment” button and I see the last comment made, “I’d ask you to marry me again in a heart beat.” by your husband. I’m not sure why, but it brought me to streaming tears. Finding your ring is great, but finding a partner in life, for life, is something much, much greater.
okay Jill, your comment made me tear up a bit. And you are right. Hes does know the right things to say sometimes.
Glad I found your site! I’m re-reading Running the Books. I can’t read a book if I’ve seen the movie already. It ruins my imagination. I also try not to read too close to seeing the movie.
[…] I had a lost-a-piece-of-jewelry moment again. That’s why I didn’t even tell you when it disappeared. It was too […]
Oh, I’ve lost nice things too! And then found them! And I do agree that having loved and lost makes the finding them so much sweeter! Glad you did!