The other day, my hair kept getting tangled up in my wedding set. As I tried to dry it, I was constantly having to stop and gently try to extract my own hand from my hair as strands got caught between the wedding band and engagement ring. (I have the two soldered together, but there’s a little gap on the top between them.) After about the forth or fifth time, because I have a hard time learning from my mistakes apparently, I finally took my ring off to finish the job without incident.

Once I finally had my hair dry, flat ironed and styled, I picked my ring back up to put it back on my finger. It was then that I looked at it closer and realized it was horribly dirty. I didn’t know when I had last cleaned it!

I dropped the ring into some jewelry cleaning solution, and I was mildly alarmed by how cloudy the solution became immediately. (I later also dropped my college ring in as well, and that REALLY clouded things up!)  I waited the suggested 30 seconds before I fished the ring out and used the little brush that came in the solution on it to get between the stones. The diamonds on my engagement ring are suspended, and the space below them looked terrible!

It’s hard to believe I’ve been wearing the set for over four years now, the engagement ring for over five. As I rinsed the ring off, carefully making sure to remove all the solution from the metal, I couldn’t help but notice a deep scratch down one side.  Part of the area under the stones still didn’t come completely clean, even after I used the brush.

I have to confess, instead of being upset about the blemishes on my prized possession, I instead smiled. I was struck by the symbolism behind those scratches and stains. After four years of marriage, my husband and I have done our battles with life in general. We stand stronger than ever, but with some scratches and stains just the same. Our marriage means even more to us today than it did when it was brand new… just like my rings.

I never knew when that ring went on my finger, “As a symbol of [our] love and commitment” that symbolism would actually grow stronger. I was SO glad I took the time to shine up my favorite pieces of jewelry that day. My husband and I spend a lot of time apart due to work so little things often mean more than normal… in that moment of cleaning my ring, that piece of jewelry meant more than normal to me.