The Ring's The Thing

It's been, as of today, 15 years since I married my first husband. So we're celebrating big tonight, with him leading our oldest son's baseball practice and me cooking up some spaghetti. Perhaps I'll change out of my yoga clothes and not put on my sleep pants before 7 p.m. 

Such is life after 15 years of wedded bliss and three young sons.

But there have been some gestures.

The man I married 15 years ago sent me a dozen beautiful roses. Romantic, classic.

My lead-by-example inlaws (married 49 years, and counting!) sent a card and called early in the morning.

My 'best woman' (I hated the term 'maid of honor'...how is it an honor being any one's maid?) sent me a congratulatory text message. Thoughtful, modern.

And I visited John, my local jeweler to investigate repairing my wedding ring. Yep, I broke it a couple of weeks ago. Caught my finger in a folding chair that I happened to be folding at the time. It's now oval shaped, although my finger remains round, and the solitaire diamond, although in tact, is bent backwards.

Turns out repairing a 15+-year-old ring that's been smashed is not as simple as you might think. Turns out that a decade and a half of cleaning as well as swimming in chlorinated pools with the ring on has made the gold band very fragile.

At least the marriage is stronger than the ring, which is really the point of this 'happy anniversary' blog. (Romantic, modern, right?)

But I can't wrap this up without my favorite wedding ring story from the past 15 years.  Only a year into our marriage, Kevin had a work trip to Las Vegas. I knew he'd spend a fair amount of time out in the sun, as he was training for one of his many marathons, so I had nagged -- I mean, reminded -- him to pack sunscreen and to use it.

When I got home from work, I noticed his sun screen still on the bathroom sink. So later that evening when he called, I believe I said, "I have a bone to pick with you," or, "I'm some kinda mad." Anyway, the rookie says, "Oh, yeah, I know, I left my wedding ring on the dresser."

What? You went to Las Vegas without your wife or your wedding ring? Forget about the sun screen.

Happy anniversary, Kevin!