The story of the engagement ring

After I agreed to help Keith choose an engagement ring, I did a lot of reading about it. I suspected that I would like the emerald cut diamond, but the pictures on the internet weren't enough to convince me. I also read a story about a woman who has a ring consisting of heart-shaped diamonds in the birthstones of herself and her husband. I kinda liked that idea, especially when I learned that Keith's birthstone is a sapphire.

On a whim one afternoon, I called Keith and asked if it was okay with him if I went to look at rings by myself before we looked together. Not wanting to go all over town, I checked out three stores in the same mall. Did you know that jewelers in the mall do not carry very many emerald cut diamonds because they aren't very popular?! I saw a few in each store, but they were all more elaborate than I could live with.

I tried on a few rings in each store, and it got easier as the time passed. It was amazing at first to think that I would have a ring on my left hand! My suspicions were confirmed that I liked emerald cut stones and that the sapphire sidestones were excellent for me.

The next weekend, Keith and I went back to one of the stores and saw a few rings. We agreed on the shade of the sapphires and on the maximum size of the stones based on what looked right on my hand. We left the store, and he had the information that he needed.

Later, Keith asked me what color band I wanted. I could go either way, but I knew that I wanted us to have matching color wedding bands, so I asked him to decide what color band he would wear.

Keith took it from there. He worked with two jewelers to design my ring because no one makes one like it for the shelf. One day, he called me very excited, "I want to tell you something, but I don't know if I should tell you or not!" He said he saw a ring put together that was beautiful. We talked about that ring again later, and he decided that I knew too much. That was the end of conversations about the ring.

The next I heard about the ring was the day we were leaving Birmingham after visiting our families. He brought my ring with him to show his mom. I drove around the country for five days in the same car as my ring, but I never peeked! I could imagine what my ring looked like (I had found a picture online of a similar ring, but the sapphires were lighter), but I had never seen the ring I am now wearing. Keith and his mom both agreed that it was beautiful!

There were moments that we joked about him proposing like baseball games or the night he made dinner for me. But, the phone calls had to be made first. I was completely sure that it would be a few days after those phone calls that anything else happened, so I was quite surprised when only hours separated the phone calls from Keith's proposal!

Now, nine days later, my engagement ring has not come off of my finger for more than a couple of minutes at a time. I enjoy watching it sparkle in the sun, and I'm learning how to get my hand in my pocket again! It's been a process to get used to wearing this ring, but I absolutely love it! (That'll be a metaphor for being married: it'll be a process to get used to being married, but I will absolutely love Keith and our life together!)

Keith teases me about flicking my wrist to show people my ring, and we both laugh about wearing blue to match it. Yesterday, I was wearing a black shirt, and Keith had on a blue shirt. He claimed that he was "supporting our engagement because somebody had to!" I really had no idea how much blue is in my closet, but wearing it is a lot of fun these days. (When laundry isn't done, I have to resort to other colors.)

I've wondered if I'll ever get tired of wearing blue on my finger. Then, when I remember that the sapphires are blue because they represent the love of my life, I know that I'll always wear blue with delight!