WHY I WEAR A "WEDDING RING"
I have never been much of a jewelry person. I am a tomboy through and through, and jeans, a t-shirt, and a ball cap are my bread and butter. Plus, I am a pretty lazy person, and the one extra step of matching an accessory to an outfit always seemed like a bridge too far. I cannot count the number of poor CTR rings that I have managed to lose in an attempt to put more effort into my appearance. However, as of late, I have been wearing a ring on my wedding ring finger (99% sure that is not the correct term). I have made it an entire two weeks wearing this ring on my finger, which is basically a world record in the land of Ellie. Why have I decided to wear this ring on my finger, you may ask? I know your curiosity must be killing you, but don’t worry! I am here to answer your questions! 😉
1. Gotta Get Used To It!
Contrary to what many members of my family believe, I do plan on getting married at some point in the future (#alreadyanoldmaid). Part of the reason I could never hold onto those precious CTR rings was because it felt so foreign to me. It was so odd to have this weird, metal thing around my finger. It felt uncomfortable and restricting, and I was just not a fan. I constantly forgot to put it back on (hence the tragic death of so many CTR rings) because I didn’t really like it, and I was just not in the habit of doing it. Now, losing twelve, $4.00 CTR rings is no big deal. You just scrounge up all of your pennies and by a new one. A sentimental, expensive ring given to you by someone you love? That is a different story. So, in order to prepare for the date many fear shall never come, I have decided to get in the habit of wearing a ring.
2. Scare Off The Youths
As has been discussed many times on my blog, I have the face of a seventeen-year-old (if we are being extremely generous). I was “blessed” with a young face, and as a Young Women’s LEADER, that can sometimes get you into some major trouble. Now, this is not a super common occurrence (let’s be real, it’s not like I look like a supermodel or anything. Plus, all of my Young Women are much cuter than me😉), but on occasion, some of the Young Men look at my young, approachable face, and ask me to dance. Always awkward, for both parties involved.
A couple of weeks ago, I had the wonderful opportunity to accompany some of our Young Women to a church camp up in the mountains. As I was perusing the list of things I needed to pack (many a sunscreen bottle was packed that day), I began to wonder, “How can I look older, and prevent a possible awkward dance between myself and a fourteen-year-old?” We were going up to the mountains, and with the constant reapplication of sunscreen in my future, I knew I was not going to want to wear makeup (plus, I had tried that tactic at the last dance, and it did not work. This baby face is just to powerful to combat). I tried to pick out my most leader-like looking outfit (ball cap, t-shirt, and running shoes. So, basically my everyday look), but feared that would not be enough. Then, I had a great idea! If I wear a ring on my wedding ring finger (still not the correct term), maybe they will think I am married! I don’t know if it was my leader look, my wicked dance moves, or the ring, but something managed to convince those boys I was too old for them. Success!
3. An Ode To The Man In My Life
Last year for my birthday, my dad gave me and my mom the wonderful gift of matching mother/daughter rings. Knowing me as he does, he selected a causal, pink, silicone ring, that had two circles interlocking, to show the relationship between a mother and a daughter. I loved that gift! The rings were simple and comfortable, and a sweet way I could always be connected to my mom. However, my mom, the sweet, hilarious woman that she is, somehow managed to break her ring (in her defense, it is silicone. on the other hand, she does let children play with it.). After that, it seemed kind of weird to wear my ring. Obviously, we were still connected, but it felt weird to be wearing that connection all by myself.
That is, until I got the news that I would be heading up to a Youth Church Camp. Then I was all for fooling everyone into thinking I had married some amazing German Soccer Player, who was just currently in training (does that count as a lie?). When I returned home from camp, and took my ring off to wash the smell of nature off of my skin, it felt so odd to not be wearing it. It felt like a piece of me was missing. As I slipped the ring back onto my finger, I began to think about what wearing a ring on that finger meant. As we are all well aware, I do not currently have a man in my life right now. But, I actually do. I have a man who supports me, prays for me, loves me, makes me laugh, tells me I’m beautiful, watches sports with me, sings Def Leppard with me, and who gifted me that ring. Until another man comes along who can check off all of those boxes, why not honor the man I already have? So, in honor of the incredible man in my life, Daddy-o himself, I will continue to wear this ring, until someone comes along worthy enough to replace it.
So, those are the reasons I have started wearing a “wedding ring”. No, I am not married (Unless you are a youth at the dance, then I am TOTALLY married). No, I am not engaged. No, I am not trying to deter anyone from pursuing me. I just decided that the pros outweighed the cons of taking my ring off. I am not sure anyone really cares why I started wearing this ring, but at least now if anyone asks, I can just point them here 😉.