Wedding Rings

In our German class this evening we read a little essay about the custom of wedding rings in modern German society. Some of the interesting things we learned were that Germans will use any sort of ring for a wedding ring, it doesn't have to be really expensive or encrusted with diamonds; that most of their wedding rings are inscribed in the inside with the first names of the married couple and the marriage date; that the wedding ring is worn on the right hand ring finger; and that they are very superstitious about losing or even taking off the rings.

It was interesting that I should come home from that class and read a piece in my daughter-in-law's blog For Bunny or For Worse about significant rings in their family. Of course, since one of those rings used to be my wedding ring, I feel I should tell a little about it's replacement.

We had just moved to Sacramento after having lived in Long Beach for over 30 years. But my wedding ring just no longer fit. It was even causing me problems keyboarding - both the computer and the piano. So I began leaving it off longer and more frequently. Naturally, Carolyn was concerned and we talked about having it resized. In fact I thought that I should have brought it along when Carolyn and I took her engagement ring in to a jewelers to have the setting tightened. But I hadn't. While Carolyn was giving all the details about address etc. and paying for the tightening, I sat near one of the display cases. I looked down and saw a ring that really appealed to me both in looks and in price. When she was done with her business, Carolyn came over and insisted that we check out the ring I had spotted. Amazingly, it fit perfectly! Quicker than you can say, "Bob's your uncle." (for you Mary Poppins fans out there) I had a new wedding ring given to me by my bride of 35 years.

Not that it mattered to me any, but the ring was not new. The jewelers had acquired it as part of an estate liquidation. The scratches it had were no more than what it would get on my finger in a couple of months. So there's sentimentality for you. The next installment, we'll tell the story of Carolyn's 3 wedding rings!