Wednesday, July 29, 2009

in an instant

All was well with my mommy vacation. It was a great, even stupendous, weekend. I spent two nights at the hotel, and two nights with my aunt and uncle. Then yesterday morning, about fifteen minutes before my uncle and I were to set off for the airport I discovered something was missing. The perfect vacation had become so imperfect in an instant.

Frantically, I start searching the room I had stayed in, and the surfaces I had placed it on. I searched inside my carry on. It was all to no avail.

I could not find my mother-in-law's emerald and diamond ring. I have lost a family heirloom.

It's not bad enough that I have to travel amongst strangers that now I have to do it miserably, feeling horribly.

Thursday when I was packing I told myself not to take it. It doesn't fit any of my fingers like it really should, but was just snug enough on my right middle finger that I felt it would be ok. Wrong!

Over the weekend I told one of my friends that I was hoping to get it resized to fit my left ring finger so that I could wear it as an anniversary band. It's such a gorgeous ring. Imagine an emerald-cut emerald flanked by two triangular-cut diamonds, set in white gold.

Big B had bought it years ago for my mother-in-law, before he and I even knew each other. He had given it to her as a gift. When she passed away, in 2002, he gave it and a few other pieces of jewelry, to me for Christmas that year.

Here I sit reminiscing over a wonderful weekend spent with old friends from high school and family I haven't seen in at least 3 years, yet it is all overshadowed by the loss of something so dear.