The Golden Rule & My Lost Engagement Ring

Today's event reinforces my life motto: Be kind to others and kindness will be returned.

Wearing my ring on a necklace in July.

My wedding band had been lonely for about 9 months.

9:38 AM 05.06.11 I found my ring.

My set is complete again.

That's MY ring....
I had sworn my ring had been lost while traveling in California for a friend's wedding. I was pregnant and prone to swollen hands. I thought I had worn it on a necklace. But it just didn't pan out. Did the necklace break? Did I have the ring taken from my purse in airport security? The heavy fog of pregnancy forgetfulness shrouded this mystery greatly. I hadn't given in to replacing it yet as it was irreplaceable, and the deductible alone wasn't available to be spent right now as we just bought a house and had a baby. I never had figured out where it had gone, just that it was lost... for what I thought was forever. Until I found it today. I am overwhelmed by this sign.

Where did I find it?
I found it in the center console of my car. As you can see in the photo just after its recovery, it still has a hair rubber band attached to it FOR SAFE KEEPING. When I was pregnant, I frequently did this so I could wear it higher on my finger without losing it.

How did I react?
About to go into work, I had no time to cry. I smashed it back onto my finger next to my wedding band, fighting the pudge that was leftover from post - baby and making the permanent divot on my hand remember that it used to fit 2 rings. This was the first time since sometime last August that I had both rings on. After over 9 months of no ring or just wearing the wedding band as my hands swelled through pregnancy, they learned their new shape. I had only had my wedding band in the hospital when McBaby was born and was mourning that my ring was not there. That special symbol of commitment that physically weighed so little, was very noticeable in the missing weight on my hand (or necklace as the case may have been)

What lead me to the ring today?
Short answer: God.
Long form: I was digging in the console of my car for a pen to write a nice note on the bag of treats I was leaving for a parent and student moving out of a residence hall at the University that I work for. That family sold us their house, which we are taking possession of TODAY. They have to move their son out of his res hall today AND move out of their house. The closing went really badly earlier this week with a her realtor being a total jerk to us and was very stressful on the mom. I wanted to show that there were no hard feelings and that I hope they have an easy move. I was in a unique position to figure out who her kid was and leave a bag of snacks and Gatorade and chocolate to ease their move. When they turn in their key, they'll get the bag before driving home to move. I'm pretty sure that I was rewarded for my kindness by God saying, here's your engagement ring back. You're taking possession of your first house today and should start it off without one more open ended worry.

What if I'd never looked for the pen? What if another pen had been handier? How long would my ring have sat there hidden next to me? Nine more months? Years? More babies? Driving 500 miles a week, it's comforting to know that it was so close this whole time. What a great day it is! I'm feeling especially blessed!