The Other Ring

I don't know about you but when I don't wear my wedding ring I feel so super naked. I took mine in last week to get it inspected and dipped which means I have to hand it over to them for 10 days while it gets sent out to their shop. I hate doing this (but it is nice to get it back all shiny and like new)! In lieu of my wedding rings, I moved a right hand ring that Alan gave me over to hold their place. This ring is just as special to me as my others and thought it might be fun to share the history behind it. 

I wanted to be surprised with our honeymoon and so Alan did just that. I was certainly surprised when he told me we were going to Oklahoma. I know, I know you are thinking "That is so boring!" because I may have thought the same thing (sorry babe!) but his reasons why were so sweet and that made it all okay. My maternal grandparents live there and my Grammy was going through Chemotherapy for breast cancer. I am the oldest grandchild on that side and I was looking forward to having them come here for the wedding until due to some changes in her routine, my grandma's last round of the meds ended up being the day before our wedding and traveling was out of the question for her. Since her cancer was a fairly serious stage we didn't know how much longer we would have her and as I was sad they couldn't make it Alan decided that we'd take the party to them. Now, don't worry- we stayed in our own hotel several minutes away from them haha. When he told me that's where we were going I cried because I did not want to spend my honeymoon with family but it ended up being so great! My aunt that lives in OK flew here for the wedding and then a few days later we flew out to the Sooner State. (Here is where the story gets good) My grandparents had NO idea we were coming. On the drive home from the airport my aunt called them and said she was starving and that it would be fun to get some dinner. My grandparents agreed and invited my other aunt and uncle and their 3 girls along as well. YES! This was going to be awesome! When we got to Chili's we told the hostess what was up and she had the perfect table for Al and I to sit and hide while the rest of my family came in. We sat waiting for 15 minutes or so before they came in and once they had all started ordering drinks we came out from hiding. They were totally oblivious as they sat and chatted until I said, "Can we join you?" Everyone just stared. My sweet grandpa's eyes welled up with tears and my Grammy just squealed and hopped us to squeeze us. This was definitely so worth it! None of them had met Alan yet so it was great fun for them to all get to know each other and I am lucky to have such a thoughtful husband. We stayed there for 4 days and did a bunch of shopping and dining out. Alan told me to look for a ring that would remind me of our special honeymoon but I was reluctant to do so as he had already given me such gorgeous rings. One day we went to an Indian Reservation museum and learned more about the history of Oklahoma and there it was. The ring I knew I had to have. I have always loved turquoise but this one was awesome as it had red turquoise in it as well (Did you know there was such a thing as red turquoise? I sure didn't)! I loved the ring so much and Alan was so sweet to get it for me. Even though I loved it so much, I had a hard time getting used to wearing another ring but it quickly became part of me. Thanks Alan for such an incredibly sweet gift and trip! Now we have been married almost two and a half years and he has since given me another turquoise ring as a gift. 

I am crazy about these rings! Stay tuned for the history of ring #2 from Alan. What sentimental pieces do you have from your sweetheart?