RINGING IN LIFE

I was looking at this turquoise ring.  I’ve seen literally thousands of turquoise rings, and I’ve made hundreds.  Nothing special here, or is there?

Every turquoise ring has a shank, a back plate, a stone and a setting.  But each stone is completely unique, even stones from the same mine.  Each setting, although similar to others, will be unique because of the stone.  And there are many choices to choose from for the style of shank you want.  Even though there are a huge variety of choices, each piece serves its purpose to complete the ring.

We just had our second grandbaby and it got me thinking about this life.  Just like each new child is special, and the birthing experience is unique to each new mother, so each ring is special, with its own uniqueness.

As you look at that new born child, we all consciously or unconsciously count all the fingers and toes.  (Admit it, you know you did!) Some babies have lots of hair, some don’t. Some are big and some are small.  But they all have the basic ‘parts’ that make them human. But what separates all those babies in the nursery from YOUR baby is that it’s yours!  Whether you’re the mother or father or grandparent, you have a special emotional attachment to that child.  It means a lot to you.  While you may like the other babies, there’s NOTHING like your own.

So too with rings.  We buy or make jewelry because it has meaning to us.  How many of us have bought a ring from a store while we were on vacation? Why? Because we remember the event with fondness and the ring brings back those memories.  I remember being on a trip with my folks when I was in jr. high.  I think it was in Black Canyon, somewhere in Arizona.  We stopped into a trading post to look at “Indian Jewelry”. I remember the smells, the leather, the wood stove, and the creaking wooden floor.  My dad bought a Navajo tufa cast belt buckle with a big piece of turquoise on it.  I now have that buckle and the memories that go with it.  Is it worth a lot of money? Probably. But to me it’s priceless.

Roxanne has a small turquoise and coral ring I made her when we were dating. She loves that ring.  Whenever she wears it, she gets compliments on it. But that ring means a whole lot to her because I made it and gave it to her: joy, promise, a future.  As she said, it meant she’d found her sweetheart. (Me. She was talking about me!)

The point is, life is about what’s important to you.  Surround yourself with beauty that means something to you.  The nice thing about pieces of jewelry is that they last, and you can wear them as a constant reminder of that place or time or event.  I like rings because they are right in front of me all the time I’m wearing them; a constant reminder.

Nothing can take the place of people, but it’s nice to have things to remind us of those we are apart from, for whatever reason.  What are your memories? What are your reminders? What gives you life?