Think Back: 2008 Summer Olympics

Remember USA star sand volleyball player Kerri Walsh?  And how she lost her wedding ring during a match against Japan?  Even though she still went on to win that match I bet she had an awful nagging feeling in the back of her mind wondering if she would ever find her ring again.

I know because last week I couldn't find my wedding ring for five consecutive days.  

But don't be alarmed - this story has a happy ending because Kerri Walsh was eventually reunited with her ring - and so was I (so be it was because I simply needed to look under the soap dish on the bathroom counter!)  But I still learned a few valuable lessons.

(1) I have a lot more appreciation for our local trash collectors.  I bet you've never stopped to think how fast maggots can get into your outside trash can.  

(2) With the right attitude, you can have fun with your spouse doing anything - even searching through maggot covered trash. And posting "missing wedding ring" signs around your own house.

(3)  Although it sure is nice to sit here typing with my ring safely back on my finger, and although a wedding ring is a symbol of our marriage, it by no means defines our marriage.  Something that Brant kept reminding me of -which brings me to the next point.

(4) *Gush Alert* That I love my husband. A lot.  Well okay, I already knew that, but at no point in time was he even a little agitated that I couldn't remember where I had put down such a sentimental piece of jewelry that he picked out especially for me. In fact, it was quite the contrary - he was the most patient and helpful in trying to find it.

(5)  Even though we went through the painstaking process of pulling out to look under the washer, dryer, stove, refrigerator, dishwasher- and unscrewed the kitchen sink pipes- and hunted down a metal detector - and went piece by piece digging through all trash that went out of our house.... all I needed to do was simply lift up the soap tray off the bathroom counter.  Sometimes it really is just the simple things!

(7) I can tolerate a little discomfort of having the moisture caught from washing my hands with my wedding ring on (which is why I take off my ring in the first place).  A feeling I'm happy to take over the feeling that you may never find your ring again.

(8) No matter what material thing I misplace or break in life (car keys, sunglasses, or my wallet that I subsequently lost - and then found- during that same week) that as long as I have my wedding ring I'm perfectly happy.

(9) *Gush Alert* Did I mention I love my husband? A lot?  And for many more reasons (and reasons to come) than from just this one experience.  Thanks hon!