As my weight went up, so did my ring size. I found one day, that I could no longer fit in my wedding rings and so I stored them in a drawer until the day I could fit into them again. It took many years, but finally, it happened. I was ecstatic. I made my husband slip the rings ceremoniously over my finger. They felt heavy. They felt fantastic.

I wore my wedding rings for six months. Then one day, my husband said he could not take it any more. His ring was too tight. And so into the drawer his wedding ring went. Now, our roles were reversed and I was the only person carrying the symbol of our marriage around on my finger.

A month ago I was spring cleaning (I know, shocking!). As I was throwing away a package of stale crackers, I watched all three of my wedding bands slip off of my finger and land in the trash can. I had not even felt them slip off. I fished them out. I thought it was a freak accident. I put them back on and went about my day. The next day, I watched them fall off in the shower and I knew once again those rings were going back into the drawer. So, there both of our wedding bands sat. We are a very laid back couple and I knew it might take years for us to actually remedy the situation.

Two weeks with us both being bandless and I was a little irritated. It never bothered me as long as one of us was wearing a wedding band. But both of us? It did not feel right. It felt like a bad step in a bad direction. So, we discussed it and decided to get them sized the next day.

Did you know that the price of sizing is completely varied? I decided to price around. Our town seems to have countless jewelry stores.

We went to the closest jewelry store to which we were parked. They wanted $75 for each of my little bands and $100 for my husband’s. This felt very steep.

The next jewelry store wanted $90 for each of my rings and $125 for my husband’s. We felt maybe the first store was a good price. We decided to try one more store.

The next store, literally ten feet away from the jewelry store above, offered $35 for each of my rings and $50 for my husband’s. It felt juuuuussssst right.

It is weird, but I have always felt complete whether my wedding band was on my finger or in the drawer. Having it in a cold jewelry store felt strange. It was weird to have it away from me.

Now, we are both wearing our wedding bands again. I love holding his hand and rubbing his ring with my thumb. It is a comforting habit born out of love.

When we were married, the officiant went on and on about our wedding rings. He spoke of how we would see them every day. He talked about the struggles we would face. He told us that if we looked at our wedding rings during those hard times we would remember the vows we had spoken. Maybe, that memory and that ring might make a difference. He also said that every time we washed our hands, we would be reminded of our spouse and the love that we share.

As the years of our marriage pass, every time I wash my hands, I think of my husband. We were talking the other day. My husband said, “Do you remember when the officiant said, ‘every time we wash our hands we will think of each other?’ Well, I do. I do that.” Oh honey, I do, too.

I do.