This is kind of a long story, so you'll have to bear with me, but it might bring a smile to your heart if you have the time to read it. I'm not even sure in which decade I should start. But here goes...
I guess I will tell the story from my perspective and fill in the gaps and background along the way. I first noticed this ring on Janice's hand when Julie and I started dating in the late eighties. I always thought it was quite beautiful and asked her about it. I remembered it as being her grandmother's ring. Fast forward a few years, and Julie and I are married as are Josh and Stef. Of course we start making plans for first houses, wills, etc. We were always joking around about who would get what from an inheritance standpoint. At some point along the way, Julie made the comment that as long as she got the ring, Stef could have the rest, including their house in Beavercreek. It turns out, Julie always liked the ring a lot too. As a young teenager, she'd always seen it on her mom and thought she'd like to wear it some day too!
Speaking of wills, the joke was on Julie and me! At one point, early in our marriage, Steve and Janice drafted a will that basically said, we would share assets between Julie and Stef, but that WE GOT STEF in the deal! Haha. She is ten years younger, so at that point she was in her mid-teens and they would have needed someone to care for her in the event of their demise. THAT would have been interesting to see play out... Luckily, Josh ended up inheriting Stef so we dodged the bullet!
Anyhow, back to the story. Fast forwarding a couple decades, we've all settled into homes we love. Josh and Stef in Bellbrook, our in-laws and us in Waynesville. All of us are satisfied with what we have and where we are in life. As sometimes happens as our parents age, they start talking about dispersing or at least designating some of their heirlooms. Steve talked about his workshop and me having it someday. He gave josh a saw from it. Janice started passing out some of her decorations, sewing machines, etc. We even worked out what we would do with the house. At some point Janice and I were talking and we thought it would be really awesome to give Julie the ring for a Christmas present or something.
BUT...! The ring needed some work to secure the diamonds so I asked Janice if I could take it to a jeweler to have it fixed. She started looking for it and realized, to her dismay, that somewhere in the process of all their construction around 2015, she had LOST THE RING! Now we (Julie included) were ALL fretting. It became something in the back of all of our minds. We were always on the lookout for it. It could be in the yard, in a planter, in a drawer, dropped in a heating vent, in a bucket of sparkle or paint, dropped in a wall or even just gone forever. After four or five years of this, we finally gave up.
Janice died earlier this year and we've been through every square inch of everything she owned. Literally EVERYTHING. Even every page of every book, every drawer, every box, every overflowing container. She had a habit of tucking things away for safe-keeping. Julie found all kinds of family memories, trinkets, heirlooms, and history in the process. In the back of her mind, she has always been hoping she'd stumble on the long lost ring... After getting through everything we finally gave up.
That brings us to present month. It's our anniversary time again. We've been married for 28 years, and we have everything we need and most things we want. It's hard to impress each other with gifts. Many years, we're content to just eat a nice meal out and enjoy our memories. The past couple years have been pretty rough for us losing Steve, Janice, the boys getting ready to move out, etc. So I think we both wanted to do something nice for each other. I had been eyeing a new drone, but knew I didn't need it and couldn't even come close justifying it. But Julie bought it for me anyhow, what a nice surprise! However, a week later, I am enjoying it, and she says to me, "You better do something really nice for me this year too!" She wasn't serious, that's not how our relationship has worked all these years, it's more about the joy of giving. But it got me thinking again... I had been wondering if I could somehow recreate the ring close enough she would like it... We had found the replica that had been made somewhere along the way, so I would have something to use as a reference... I made up my mind to give it a try.
But THAT VERY EVENING, the same night she said that, I realized God had other plans... You see, Andy and I had started working together to get some of his stuff ready to move. We were walking out of his room and a glint of gold caught my eye...High on a small shelf, above Julie's line of sight, behind a chipmunk figurine and tucked under the edge of a candle holder... There is a ring...! Is it THE ring? You see the ring she liked all those years was actually her GREAT grandmothers, Buddy. When buddy had gone into the nursing home, they made a fake ring to wear and we found what we assumed was the imitation in Janice's stuff too... At this point I am shaking and maybe even crying with joy. Julie's been pretty down from everything with her parents and this would be a nice boost.
So, Andy and I look up several techniques for testing diamonds. I try scratching the mirror (it does) and a few others. So far, so good. The next day, I take it to the jeweler we've frequented our whole marriage and sure enough, IT'S THE REAL ONE! Praise the Lord! It looks like I found the PERFECT anniversary gift for Julie! I have the jeweler clean it all up, check the mount and get it ready to give Julie by putting it in a new box. Then I force us all to flex our schedules to go out to dinner. The boys knew the importance of it as an heirloom and were about as excited as I was. Julie suspects something is up, but has no idea what... Finally, after we've ordered our food, I pull it out and say "I hope I found you something that will even the score, happy anniversary?!" She exclaims, "Where did you find it?!" And we proceed to share the whole story. What fun!
It turns out, she hadn't given up and was STILL looking over everything carefully, hoping she would stumble across it. Imagine if she had just reached up to dust that shelf with the vacuum cleaner she's been running all over the house!?
I am so glad I found it and could have fun in presenting Julie her mom's and her great grandmother's hundred year old ring to her!
It turns out it was actually Buddy's husband's (Daddy Hubs') first wife's ring. Probably from about the 1920 era! She bought it as a splurge one day even though she didn't really have support from Daddy Hubs. She often kept it in her pocket so as not to force the issue with her husband. After she died, Daddy Hubs had it fixed up as a wedding ring for Buddy. After Buddy died, Janice inherited it and wore it for many years before she placed it on that shelf for safe keeping during all the construction then "lost" it by not remembering she'd done that...
So crazy, and so glad the lost has been found...! So happy for Julie. I love you girl!❣️Happy Anniversary... and thank you for being mine and the happiness you bring us!
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