A Ring at a Time

Today I am grateful for my husband Darcy's safe travels on a recent business trip and for snow boots and snow shovels.

One way to approach gratefulness is to look for it in activities that we do regularly. Giving thanks for teeth, toothpaste, and running water while we brush our teeth. Giving thanks for the washer and dryer, loved ones, and electricity while we fold the family's laundry.

One of the things I do pretty much every day is put on my rings and take them off. All six of them.
I am grateful for each of my fingers and for each of the rings and their meaning. Four are gifts from my husband.

I never wore rings until Darcy proposed to me when I was 32. My rings include my engagement/wedding ring and two other diamonds. One is a chocolate diamond for a girl who loves chocolate. The other symbolizes family in more ways than one. There is a Black Hills gold ring from Darcy, a native South Dakotan, also signifying 10 years of recovery.

Another ring was acquired for $15 at a local antique store--an Irish claddagh. For us, it is about the love, friendship, and loyalty symbolized by the ring, not Irish heritage.

And then there is my newest ring, one made by my friend Tibor, which has the year I got sober--1989--and a symbol of recovery that is meaningful to me.

These go on my less-than-petite fingers with my less-than-perfect nails. Depending on the temperature, they don't always fit perfectly either.

Yet, one ring at time, they are perfect reminders of my blessings. They bring focus to my priorities. Marriage. Family. Love. Commitment. And also my commitment to recovery from alcoholism. One ring at a time, gratitude circles.

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