A Regift I'm Grateful For

First of all, I'd like to thank everyone for their good wishes and apologize I haven't blogged much this week. I've been meaning to, but I'm still feeling a bit fatigued. I haven't even had the energy to work on Lennon's Line, and I want to rewrite parts of it. It may be time to have my thyroid levels checked again.

Anyway, I crashed early last night and slept in, so I'm feeling awake enough to tell you a story.

Years ago, for my 28th birthday (my golden one), I bought myself two rings. One was an onyx stone; the other, alternating sapphires and diamonds. I chose them because the colors are personally significant to me. Since then, I've worn both of them on my right hand. I do take them off at night (unlike my engagement/wedding rings), but I wear them every day without changing them up.

Last week, I took them off as I was cleaning the apartment. To keep them safe, I put them on my watch, closed that, and stuck the watch in my jeans pocket--something I've done lots of times. I left the watch and rings in my pocket later that night as Eugene and I ran errands. I didn't bother putting them on until the next day, when I couldn't find them. I checked the usual spots but soon decided I'd lost them while I was out.

It took me a few days to adjust to the fact I'd lost them for good. My hand felt naked without my accustomed rings, and it was strange not having a watch. So I decided to replace them, even if the rings wouldn't have the same meaning. I found an onyx ring on sale at the mall, and I bought a nice watch at a bargain price from Overstock.

This morning, as part of our routine, we did laundry. Eugene woke up before I did, so he brought the first load down. I roused when I heard him return to the bedroom. He was dangling my watch from his hand.

"Someone up there really likes you," he said.

Apparently I must not have frisked my jeans properly before putting them in the wash; my watch and rings were on the bottom of one of the laundry bags.

Eugene admitted later he was tempted briefly to wrap them up and give them to me on Christmas, but that might have caused some issues.

Needless to say, I'm happy to have my beloved rings back, and I'll have to be more careful with them in the future. Of course, I don't know how much longer I'll be able to wear any of my rings (in case my hands start swelling), so I have to enjoy them while I can.

Happy holidays, everyone, and may you experience a minor miracle of your own this Christmas!