reengaged

we're back from nj...well, i should say, i'm back. baldman was back for a day and then left for ms, where he will deposit his mother, visit family, attend to some business, and then return to me by the weekend.

we had a fantastic visit with family and i will post pictures and share more later this week.

i do want to share about my big christmas present from my husband. but that requires a little tangent.

when we first got engaged in the late fall of 2001, we did it with very little frills. hey, we're no frills people, so it fit. we did not have an engagement ring, and neither of us felt particularly interested in getting one. primarily this was because we were very aware of the fact that the exploitation of diamonds causes wide-spread human rights abuses in africa (no need to post a link here, just google it for lots of reading). and because the idea that a diamond engagement ring equals forever is just blatantly offensive to me. the other reason was that frankly we didn't have the money and both baldman and i are pretty much ethically agreed that we won't buy anything we can't afford. in the back of my head, i did think it would be cool to get some kind of antique ring maybe for an anniversary or something down the line. but i digress. so we had no engagement ring, just wedding bands.

well, a few months ago when baldman's mom and sister were cleaning their mother/grandmother's house, they came across her engagement ring, given to her in the 1940's. baldman's mom asked if he would like to give it to me, he conferred with me, and we agreed it would be a very meaningful and special thing to have. so baldman took it, got it sized and presented it to me on christmas morning. it was all very sweet. so here's the picture of him giving it to me.



and here is a picture of the ring with my wedding band. sorry it's not a better picture but our camera kept dying (piece of junk! (the camera, not the ring)).



now that i've had the ring and worn it for a few days it's a really weird thing to have it on. i almost feel too flashy or like i've given up some of my identity. i know that sounds strange, but it's such a rarity to not have an engagement ring, i felt sort of more special not having one, like it was more purposeful that way. but of course, i'm totally happy to have it and i know it's a very special thing! i just have to get used to it. and we feel like it's a win all around. we're making use of something that was no longer being used, thus not necessarily taking away the means by which the diamond was acquired, but at least making full use out of it (it's recycling, y'all!). but more importantly, we have something that has history with our family and that means a lot to all of us. i only hope that we will be able to pass it down to our grandchild some day.