THINGS: LOST AND FOUND

On Friday the 12th of Feb I lost my diamond ring. Not because I did not value it enough or because I was careless, but because I lost so much weight since you left that all my rings are a little too big and fits too loosely. Yes, I shall have them fixed as soon as I get back to our house - for now I was hesitant to talk about my ring and tried very hard to remember that it is only a thing - part of so many things we collect in life and attached very much money- and sentimental value to.

So I thought that if I accept the fact that I lost it and I did not even know where,(I did go back to the two shops that M and I went to that afternoon), but nobody found anything, so I resigned myself to my immense loss.

In all the time that you and I were together almost all the very important happenings were crowned by a ring from you, most of them, the good and the bad.

When we met and decided to get married we did not have much of anything, so, when we got engaged it was with a small pearl ring. When we got married you had a beautiful white gold ring made for me, I was so proud of it.

Then years later after M was born you bought me a very nice gold ring with 4 small diamonds around a bigger centre diamond. The year I enlisted I accidentally bumped my hand against a wall and the big stone broke in such small pieces that I had to pick them up from the floor with cellotape. The dealer refused to replace it and we lost the courtcase that followed on the basis that every diamond has a weak spot and no dealer could foresee that the diamond will split, that was in '72. By then I was wearing an old gold wedding band and nothing else.

The following years were full of potholes as far as our marraige was concerned and in July of 1974 after you decided that divorce will not be an everlasting solution for the infatuation you had with a fleeting affair, you took me back to the fountain at the Union buildings where you proposed, we renewed our vows and you presented me with a brand new 10mm gold weddingband with the date inscription of 15/7/74.

Then I realised that being married is hard work, for both partners. That I wore untill 2002 when my hands became so swollen after the MI's that I had to resort to your old wedding band, because it was bigger. Even though the following few years were difficult because the trust was lost and a new relationship between us was formed you tried your best with a lovely eternity ring with four .25carat diamonds, which I wore till J got engaged and he then had it reset in an engagement ring.

In '83 after that big vehicle accident when I was in hospital and so very, very depressed, you brought me a diamond dress ring with 35 little diamonds in, which is still today one of my favourites.

When we got the insurance money for the accident you bought me a proper diamond solitaire which nobody could miss. Later on the setting became a little bit unsecure and for a while I did not wore the diamond ring.

Then at our 38th wedding anniversary you presented me with this beautiful diamond. The lost one.

So now that you have walked memory lane with me, you definately will rejoice with me in the knowledge that M has found my ring - wait for it, In her bread - tin.Now I remember that I worked in the kitchen after we got back from the shops, and amongst my chores were packing the groceries.

Maybe I found my loss so hard to accept because deep in my heart I still hoped that my ring will be found and returned to me and, yes I promise that I will take it to the jeweler to fix the size. My whole world is a much nicer place because I got my ring back

Love you
Matilda's Mum