It's back where it belongs

5 years after I had to take off my college ring, it is back on my pinkie.

The Westhampton Ring is a very special signet ring. It is such a unique design, sporting the "W" for Westhampton College, and an image of North Court Tower in the center. I had seen this ring my whole life on my mother's hand. When I went to University of Richmond, I just knew which ring I would be purchasing come my junior year. I didn't even need to look at the many selections. And in all actuality, the majority of my classmates got the same ring.

Westhampton College (the women's college of the University of Richmond) has a Junior Ring Ceremony. When my parents went to school there, and also when I was there, it was a really big deal. All of the juniors dressed in long white gowns, and were "presented" at the top of the staircase (the same one from "Gone With the Wind") by their father. Their father then turned and put their college ring on their finger. After descending the stairs, the women went and got in place to form a large letter "W" - think marching band on the field, but with pretty girls all dressed in white and in a beautiful hotel lobby! It was a beautiful memory that is forever engraved in my mind and heart. I wore that ring every day, rarely taking it off.

When I was pregnant with Brian, my whole body swelled up. Around February/March, I had to take off all of my rings for fear of having to have them cut off if I didn't act myself. Just like my feet, my fingers grew in size and never returned to my pre-pregnancy size. I had my wedding bands resized a long while ago, but had never gotten around to getting my college ring resized.

When we were packing up to head up to my 15 year college reunion, on a whim, I took my ring out of my jewelry box, and brought it with me. The joy when I saw a "ring guy" sitting outside of the bookstore. I explained what I wanted done, and presto-chango (well, about 4 weeks later) - my ring was returned to me. This time in white gold, since I don't wear yellow gold anymore, and in the right size. It feels so strange, but at the same time so comfortable to have my ring back on.