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?