This is my new favorite picture of my engagement ring. I took it at the camera obscura down at Ocean Beach. That’s the ocean twinkling off the diamond!
My engagement ring and me. We are having something of a tough time of it. David and I found my engagement ring in a antique store (you can read all about the search here), and the ring and I fell in love immediately. It was small and simple, and looked just right on my small hand. It dates from the 1920’s, and is subtly art deco. It’s unique, it has soul, and it fit perfectly on my hand without having to be sized. When I put it on, the store owner looked at the ring, and looked at me, and said, “Oh, that’s your ring.” And it was.
But we’re having a little bit of a hard time out in the real world together. My ring is somewhat small, and it’s simple. Meaning that it’s absolutely not what is popular at the moment. Everyone around me seems to be competing in some sort of diamond Olympics. Rings as big as your knuckle! Rings that would feed a third world country for a year! Rings you can not possibly do the dishes in! And subtlety, I get reminded all the time that my ring is little. People look at my ring, and then look slightly disappointed. “It’s from the 1920’s!” I always rush to say, “It’s vintage!” Friends tell me that they love my ring. It’s so classy, and tasteful. They want one just like it, they say, but much bigger. “Oh.” I say “I have small hands. I wanted one just this size.”
But I’ve noticed that when I’m doing yoga, or at the camera obscura, or at the beach, my ring looks just right. It sparkles up at me and says “Here we are, and we’re just right together.” Hopefully soon I’ll learn to tune out all the other nonsense.
(Also: If you are ever in San Francisco, you have to check out the camera obscura. It’s one of the city’s hidden gems, and dates back to Playland On The Beach in the 1920’s. It costs $3 to get in, and I could meditate on it’s ever moving images of the sea for hours.)
