The Wedding Ring

I know that this may sound pretty sappy, but the wedding ring would be the most important item in any married person's clothing collection. The wedding ring not only tells everyone else in the world that one is married, but it is also serves as several different reminders for that person.

When I look down at my wedding ring, it gives me a sense of direction - both literal and metaphorical. I'm dyslexic. If you ask me to tell you which way is left and which is right, I have to either look at my hands, or use my thumbs to touch my ring finger for both hands. Then, I can tell you. Left is the hand that wears my ring.

It also gives a sense of direction in the metaphoric sense as well. For example, when my loving and wonderful husband is being a huge doof, glancing down at my hand reminds me that he is my doof. When he's forgotten to put something away, throw something away, or complete a chore, I look down at my ring and it reminds me to be patient with him, as he is with me.

When the cupboards are bare, the bills are piling up, when I am feeling inadequate as a wife and as a provider for my family, the ring reminds me of for better and for worse. It restores my faith that though the road may be rocky, I am not traveling it alone.

When I am ill or in pain, the ring reminds me of for sickness and in health. My husband is there to help me heal during times of illness.

And when I am none of these things; when I am happy and healthy, when I look at my ring it reminds me to be all of the above for my husband. That is, after all, what the ring is for.

It's not just something to tell the opposite sex that one is married. It's not a decoration one wears upon her fingers. It's a symbol of the partnership two parties have entered into. It's a symbol of the cycles of love each marriage endures. It's never ending. No beginning. No end. Just as two people are once they take those vows.

Even if a person is completely naked, for any reason, they should still have their wedding ring upon their fingers. It is the most valuable piece of clothing and jewelry they will ever own. Even when fully clothed, one is naked without their ring.