Friday, April 22, 2016

Part II of The Story of The Three Wedding Rings - The A to Z Challenge - The Letter S

Blogging from A to Z Challenge
April 2016
This month I will be participating in the “Blogging from A-Z Challenge” 
What is it?
Blogging every day.  It begins on April First with a topic themed on something with the letter A, then on April second another topic with the letter B as the theme, and so on until I finish on April thirtieth with the theme based on the letter Z.   The theme of the day is the letter scheduled for that day.




St. Anthony

On yesterday's post, I talked about two of the three wedding rings I wear.

Now about ring number three.

On a cold January 29th, 2014, I lost both of the gold bands that I always wore on the ring finger of my left hand.  One was my wedding ring and the other was my great-grandmother's ring.
I never took the rings off, not to wash my hands, not when I went to sleep, never.  

I know the exact date that I lost the rings because I posted about it on FaceBook:

January 29, 2014

"I’m very upset. I lost my great-grandmother’s wedding band along with my own. I wore both of them together. Because it’s been so cold, they were loose on my finger. We’ve looked everywhere in the house...pockets, washer/dryer, clothes hamper, car, closets, stripped the bed, in-between chair cushions. Waiting for the bowling alley to open. That’s the next check."

They weren't at the bowling alley.   I searched for days.  I felt horrible.  

A couple of people advised me to pray to St. Anthony.

"Saint Anthony, Saint Anthony, please come around:
Something is lost and needs to be found!!"

I have to admit, I'm not much of a prayer person.  But to be honest, in the past, I have recited that prayer and it seemed to work.

Before I lost them,  I would touch the rings all of the time, twisting them around on my finger.  
After they were gone, I would absentmindedly clasp my two hands together, my right hand cupped over my left, and then automatically reach for my left-hand ring finger, pressing it between the thumb and middle finger of my right hand, expecting to feel the cool touch of gold between my fingers. 
But when all I felt was the flesh of my finger, I would feel a jolt of loss. I could describe the feeling  almost as one of grief, I guess. 

After a month, Ross said we should buy a new ring to replace the one I lost.  The one he placed on my finger at our wedding.    
I didn't want a new one.  
"It wouldn't be the same, would it?" I said. 
Every few weeks, though, Ross tried to coax me.
He'd say, "You know, I stopped by Tony's.  He's got a couple of nice rings.  Why don't we just look."
Ross was trying his best to make me feel better about losing the rings.
I wasn't ready to give up, though.  
"What if I find my rings?" I'd ask.  
And then I would silently say the prayer.

After nearly six months, I gave in and we went to our local jeweler, Tony. 
To tell you truth, I had to force myself to muster up a bit of enthusiasm when Tony was showing me the rings he had for sale. 

But I picked out a ring and Tony ordered it.  He told us he would call us when it came in.
"It should be here in a week to ten days," he said.
About a week later, Tony called us to come pick up the ring.
I liked the ring.  It was nice, but it just wasn't the same, you know?
In the car on the way home, I said my prayer. 

You probably have already guessed what happened next.
On June 16, 2014, two days after I got my new ring, I found my other two precious rings.  
I know the exact date because I posted about it on Facebook.

June 16, 2014
"Wow, I found my rings today!

It was weird the way I found them.
Okay, so I wanted to store the seat cushions for our outside Adirondack chairs in our hall closet. But before I could put them away, I had to make room. Well, that turned into a clean out the closet project. One of the things in the closet was a big shopping bag filled with other shopping bags. I took all of the bags out of the big bag to see which ones I was going to keep and which ones could be discarded.  When the big bag was empty I saw a glint of gold in the bottom of the bag." 

And now you know the rest of the story of why I wear three wedding rings. 

Have you ever heard of the St. Anthony prayer?  Have you lost something precious and then found it a long time afterwards?   

12 comments:

  1. So glad you did find them! I have not heard of the St. Anthony's prayer (or maybe I have now that I think of it). My best friend in 8th grade wore a very special ring to school one day; the day we were going to the end of the year school party at the beach. She lost the ring somehow and fretted all day about it when we were at the party (I don't blame her). I do think I remember her praying to St Anthony. When we got back to school, the ring was by one of the statues in the convent of the nuns (Catholic school). I could never figure that one out.

    I haven't prayed to a saint, but I have prayed to God to help find things. Son lost his wallet one time with his driver's license, etc. in it. I was praying about it and later we went to the sports store, was buying something. He knew the guy at the cash register. We were talking about the lost wallet and the guy mentioned when he had lost his wallet once he had checked all his pants and the wallet was in one of them. Sure enough when we got home, I had son check his pants and the wallet was in the pants he had worn the day before. I considered that an answer to prayer :)


    now what is Part III with your story??

    betty

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    1. That is strange in a goose bump way about your 8th grade best friend.
      There's always more to the story of our lives, right?

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  2. Oh my gosh! I have not heard of St. Anthony's prayer. But just before my husband died in July 2014, I lost the diamond from my engagement ring. I tore this house apart looking for it. I cried and cried. I have missed it so much. But I have given up hope of ever finding it. Maybe a few prayers to St. Anthony and look again! I don't want to get my hopes up again! I am so happy that you found your wedding rings!

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    1. I've lost things, particularly jewelry, and they seem to turn up in the oddest places.
      I understand how upsetting it must have been for you to have lost your precious diamond, particularly at that time.
      "St. Anthony, if you're listening, Paula needs your help."

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  3. Wow, what a tale! I lost my favorite pair of sunglasses for almost a year, but when I found them again, I realized they were so loose on my head, I didn't like wearing them anymore. Not nearly as exciting as finding rings! I'm glad you got yours back.

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    1. It's good to be able to tell a tale that has a happy ending. I wonder where you found your sunglasses after a whole year.

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  4. We always said that prayer when I was a kid. That's the thing about growing up Catholic--you have all these helpers that come in handy. Glad you found your rings.

    @Kathleen01930
    Meet My Imaginary Friends
    #AtoZchallenge

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  5. I'm so glad you found your rings. The only things I find after losing them are socks. I've never lost anything precious, though.

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    1. I wouldn't mind finding the always missing sock of a pair.

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  6. Glad for the happy ending especially since it would've been just as easy to toss the whole bag of bags rather than sort through it.

    When Hubby and I were married only about a year or so, his mother gave him a box of stuff from his high school years and in it was his class ring, which he gave to me and I wore on a chain for a long time. I always took it off to shower and one day I got out of the shower to find it was not where I had left it. I assumed one of the kids (who were two and three at the time) had come into the bathroom while I was in the shower and picked it up. I searched EVERYWHERE for it, but only found it over a year later when I had to plunge the toilet and caught sight of the chain. Fortunately, the toilet was not backed up completely, just draining slowly so retrieving the ring was only a 7 on a 1-10 scale of grossness instead of 10+. Apparently, the weight of the ring had kept it from being flushed all the way down. Anyway, we had it thoroughly clean and then packed it away because clearly, I cannot be trusted with jewelry.

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    1. That is amazing. The toilet is the one place I didn’t think of looking. I'll have to remember that one.

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