filed in Happy Ever After
With this Ring
I have a wedding ring tucked away in my top drawer underneath the socks. It’s an eternity band of tiny diamonds. I used to think if I wore it around my finger, it would bring me a husband. My beloved grandmother bequeathed it to me. We used to talk about marriage, and she advised me not to settle.
I was 30 and single when my grandmother died. I was excited to wear her ring, but my mother refused to turn it over, even though I had become the rightful owner. “You’re not married,” she said. “It isn’t right.” It took five years of arm twisting to get the ring. And at the time, it seemed to my mother (and maybe me too) that it was a kind of defeat.
Update:
Thanks, Kady, for commenting on this post, and making me realize I’d left things hanging in gloom. Let me clarify that I now proudly wear my grandmother’s ring. It sparkles on the third finger of my right hand, where it fits best. But the ring is old and fragile, so I take it out only on special occasions.
Discussion
2 comments for “With this Ring”
Leave a Reply
About this Site
FIRST PERSON SINGULAR is a guide to surviving, thriving and sometimes just getting through a single day. Created by Wendy Braitman (more…)
Follow First Person Singular
Greatest Hits
I think you should wear the ring to honor and remember your grandmother and forget about attaching any meaning to it regarding your marital status. If she didn’t want you to settle, then if I were you I would look down at that ring before I made any kind of big decision for my life and ask, “Is this something I truly want to do?” Let your gut answer the question and then move forward, knowing that you’re not settling for less and that your grandmother would be proud 🙂
I have my grandmother’s engagement ring, a diamond solitaire. I must confess that I wear it out in public sometimes…to keep hopeful suitors away!