Life Rings

 You know, like class rings, but for adults...

Remember class rings?  They seem to be less common now than they were when I graduated, I think, but when I was in school everyone who could would get professional “senior pictures”, wear a varsity jacket, and buy a “class ring”.  Sometime after my junior year in high school I ordered mine.  This was a thing that “all” (meaning the popular half of) the seniors in my high school (who could afford it) did. 

The process of ordering this particular accessory was a whole complex ordeal.  Once you had your class ring things got even more complicated, because it was only somewhat cool to wear it, and exceptionally cool to have someone else (particularly of boyfriend/girlfriend material) want to wear it, in exchange for you wearing theirs.  But I’m getting ahead of myself, let’s take a look at the first step first.

The procedure for ordering your class ring began with finding a catalog (because the internet was basically at Fred-Flintstone level in those days).  With the catalog procured, you would begin to choose the metal, shape, stone color, stone cut, fonts, images, name / nickname of yourself, your school, your graduation year, and your activities, and then decide if you wanted the inside of the band engraved with additional text.  If you didn’t happen to know your ring size you would need to find a jeweler who could size your finger to get that information.  Then you would complete the lengthy form in the back of the catalog.  Each of these selections had to be checked or printed out - in your absolute neatest handwriting - in tiny boxes (because, remember, without the internet as we now know it, we were doing this on a paper that we would actually be mailing to its destination for a human to read).  It was quite the operation.  And that was after you had decided what was going on it. 

How did one decide?  Well, the purpose for the ring (and the guide to the process) was to represent all of the things that make you YOU, on one little piece of jewelry.  It wouldn’t suffice to just slap things on there all willy-nilly.  This was your opportunity to express yourself, and one should always choose very carefully when doing that.  17-year-old me poured over that magazine for days, considering all options.  This is what I ended up with:

I was (still am) a pasty white person who thought that silver jewelry made me look tan, so naturally I chose the white gold.  I was (still am) female, and preferred the traditional, chunky look, so I went with the most feminine of the traditionally shaped rings.  Next came the stone.  Most people chose their birthstone, a few just picked a favorite color or their primary school color.  I was born in March and liked my birthstone, so I had mine set with aquamarine.  I picked a smooth surfaced stone with a cross cut into the underside to represent my faith in Jesus.  I went with a basic, block-y font and my full first name and school name. The two activities that I featured on my ring were band and track-and-field.  I was first chair clarinet and drum major, and I also held our school’s pole-vaulting record for the years that I was on the team.  These were my passions, so they were the things I chose to wear around.  When it came to the engraving on the inside I debated between my favorite verse at that time, and my name.  I went with just putting my name in there.  Mind you, the last part has changed since then.  ;) 

After a bit of a wait (this was not exactly an Amazon Prime type of thing)  I received the treasured jewelry.  For the first few months I wore it myself.  In October of my senior year I started dating my would-be husband, and he put my ring on a chain around his neck, where it has lived for the 23 years since.

My daughter just started her senior year and, though she doesn’t really care to have a class ring, it got me reminiscing and thinking.  I put so much thought into that ring for someone who had only lived for less than two decades, and really only did a few things.  I ran track, played clarinet, went to school (duh) and youth group, and that was about it.  Those little icons represented me well… then. 

But what about now?   What would a ring that represented my life look like if I designed it today?  A “life-ring”, if you will.  Let’s take a look, shall we?

Metal: If there was a two-toned option I would definitely get that, but if not then I think I would choose gold this time around.  It would match my wedding set. 

Shape: Something less large-and-awkward than my class ring, that’s for sure.  I’m far too active and clumsy with my hands to have a big hunk of something hanging off of my finger.   

Stone: I may have been born in the aquamarine month, but I live by the magic of caffeine.  We should just go ahead and stick a coffee bean right in the center for this to be accurate. 

Cut: I like the “marquise” shape these days, to be honest.  Can we get a coffee bean to do that?

Font: All-caps.  Everything in this house is always at a volume at least two levels higher than necessary.

Images / Activities: There are really just too many of these to even list (laundry, dishes, cleaning, driver/chauffeur, family secretary, shopper of all things, chef, official photographer/videographer, nurse, councilor, finder of the lost, loser of the mind…) and a typical ring can only hold about two activities.  I guess if I have to pick my favorites it would be baking and writing.  Though I do those things less than the rest of the list, at least in this era of life, they will have their day when my kids are gone and I’m trying not to miss them. 

Name: “Mom, mom, mother, mama, ma, MOOOOOOOOMMMM” might not fit very well, but it is what I go by these days.

Engraving:  Hmmmm.  I have a lot of “favorite” verses now that I could put here, but I have those memorized already and I think the wifi password would be the most helpful use of this space.

Whatever I pick, if I do actually wear it myself then it will end up with biscuit dough and lotion in it.  And, like everything else I own, it will be “borrowed” (adopted) by one - or all - of my daughters.  But I guess that’s kind of fitting anyway.  

A lot has changed in the last 23 years.  That’s a good thing, because I wouldn’t want to still be the same person that I was at 17.  A lot will change in the next 23, too, I imagine.  Which gets me thinking about what my later life ring might look like.  If I haven’t completely lost my marbles, then I’ll have to revisit this activity then as well.  :)