Wedding Ring Love Story

When Bob and I decided to marry, we were a bit long in the tooth. We'd each been married before, and both had children, some adults and some still living at home. Neither one of us had a lot in the way of worldly goods, and we decided that we'd go to the pawn shop and look for an inexpensive set of rings. Seemed like a good idea at the time, given our limited resources and number of dependents.

My first mother-in-law, and I am not exaggerating here, absolutely hated me. I kid you not, she sent a sympathy card when I married her son, and things went downhill from there. So I was more than a little nervous about meeting Bob's mom when she came to spend some time with us before the wedding.

One day I arrived home to find Bob pacing and I hardly got out of the car before he was after me to come see the plum tree. That was his excuse to get me out of the house and away from the kids so we could talk.

We walked down the hill, away from the house, and he handed me a small box, and said it was a gift from his mother to him for me. I opened the box and was stunned to find myself looking at Betty's own Wedding Ring. She had taken it off of her hand and told Bob that I deserved a real ring and that she wanted me to wear that one. I cried, of course. I've never been so touched in my entire life.

The ring has now been worn for almost 70 years. Betty wore it for over 50 years, and I've worn it for over 15 years now. Betty passed away a few years ago, but hardly a day goes by that I don't think of her and miss her. How can I not? I'm wearing her ring!