day 92: diamonds are a girl's best friend

Military 30-day Photo Challenge Day 16: Post a pic of your favorite piece of jewelry your Marine has given you and explain why it's your favorite

(this is, admittedly, not the best pic. I've got a decent camera, but not one with a decent close-up zoom)

On Dec. 24th, 2004, ASC gave me the 5-diamond anniversary band that I wear on the third finger on my left hand. Like most things, it's not just the ring that I love, but the memory behind it.

You see, on this Christmas, a morning with a decent piling of snow on the ground, ASC drove 2 1/2 year old Kennedy and Reagan (1 month away from making her emergence into this world) to a bridge. It's a relatively small, out-of-the-way bridge at a local park in town, but the moment we arrived there, I started crying (shocking, right?). You see, five years before that, I was driven to that very same place, and led to that very same bridge, a place where my then boyfriend often came, alone, to escape from all the noise of the world--to think, reflect, wonder, pray. And on that Christmas morning in 1999, he got down on bended knee, on top of inches of snow, tugged off my fuzzy blue glove on my left hand, and by placing a diamond band on one little finger, made my entire life brighter.

The five diamonds on the anniversary band were to signify each of those years together. And that was exactly one of the things I loved about his thought process there: that it wasn't on an expected day, like our actual 5-year anniversary, but another one that should be as significant, but one I often overlooked.

This past August 5th, when I reminded our girls that it was our 10th wedding anniversary, McK pointed to that ring. Many times, I've sat down and answered her questions of, "Mommy, why did Daddy give you this ring?" and "Where did this one come from?" She knew the stories well. But on this particular day, the question was new. "Mommy, doesn't Daddy owe you now?"

I wasn't sure what she meant.

"Well, if it's been 10 years, then you deserve another ring. And a bigger one!"

Ha. Good logic....but not really. Her Momma is quite content with what she's got.