Lost

Well Saturday started as a usual day, get up go to my Weight Watchers meeting-I lost less than a pound-go home get the rest of the family and head out to work out....etc. This Saturday we had a different instructor who usually teaches a different class so instead of a cardio box class we had no limits class. Let's just say that it is very similar except there is a lot more running involved and no bag work. Maybe I should have eaten more for breakfast...I was dying by the end. After a wonderful lunch at Royal Fork (OK, at that point I would have eaten roadkill I was so hungry) we split up and went our separate ways. Hubby wanted to check out the gun show in town and was planning on taking Matthew and Carolyn with him and Andrew and I would go home for naps. I put the bug in hubby's ear that maybe he should take the kids to the St. Patrick's parade downtown later that afternoon and he asked me if I would get the kitchen floor cleaned and I being in a good mood (and full) offered to mop the floor too. I got sleeping beauty home and put him down for nap and then procrastinated a little before starting my cleaning. I got the floor swept and mopped and then loaded the dishwasher and cleaned up the counter tops a bit. I also thought I'd clean up the high chair so I could sell it back to the second hand store. Andrew had not used it in months and it was just taking up space. That required a little more work as I wanted this thing to look as new as possible so I really went to town with the cleaning and I took off the plastic cover and instead of throwing it in the wash I decided to soak it and hand wash it on the off chance that my washing machine would be too harsh and crack the vinyl. I did quite a bit of my cleaning outdoors but when it came time to hose everything off I took the high chair into the bathroom and used the shower head to really get the dirt out of the cracks and crevices. Hubby and the kids came home and we ate an early supper. A little while later I was sitting at the kitchen table and happened to look down at my hand. Something did not look right and I looked again. I don't really have words to describe what it was I felt when I realized that the diamond had somehow fallen out of my wedding set. I immediately ran outside to the loving husband and told him what happened and he dropped everything to help out. I had done quite a bit of cleaning and much of my time was spent at the kitchen sink. Hubby took apart and washed out the garbage disposer but no luck. I looked in places I had been like the back deck and the bathroom and even dug the lint out from under the lint trap to see if maybe I had lost the stone when I was changing loads of laundry. I had a moment of false hope when I found a small clear rock while dumping the van's floor mats out into the driveway. Unfortunately, it was just a large piece of rock salt. Sadly, no amount of searching turned up my diamond. Now it may seem kind of silly to feel so upset about a piece of jewelry but this is probably my most valuable non-living possession. When the loving husband was in college he worked at Kay Jewelers and that is where he got the ring. At the time he was pretty broke and spent almost all he had to get me such a nice set with an exceptional diamond in it. I have always appreciated that he cared so much for me that he would do that. The ring was a treasured item and I wore it proudly with love. Later that night as I was laying in bed trying to fall asleep I started to wonder what it was about actually wearing a ring that made a marriage. I know that there are tons of married women who don't wear a ring and they are still married. Why was I feeling so unmarried without my complete wedding set? It is not the ring but the commitment behind the ring that matters but there still was a feeling of loss, like I had let the loving husband down or something. My finger felt bare and cold so I got out a ring that the loving husband had given me for one of our dating anniversaries and put that on. It is a Black Hills Gold band with three tiny diamonds in it. I guess it could pass as a wedding band so at least I look the part. Maybe it is just the selfish part of me that wants the world to know that yes, I am married, especially when I'm with the kids. I had similar worries when I was pregnant with Matthew. I didn't want people to think I was a single mother to be. Well I contacted our insurance company yesterday and the ring is covered against loss so we might be able to get some replacement money for it. Of course diamonds are still expensive to replace so I'll be wearing my Black Hills Gold ring for awhile. I've asked hubby to not get me a Mother's Day or Birthday gift so I can get a new diamond for my anniversary gift in August. Maybe this is God's way of teaching me patience and humbleness. I'm just grateful that I only lost a stone and not a family member--I can replace a diamond