the story behind the ring

I described in my Belize trip diary how James and I got engaged. He had intended on making me a temporary ring in Belize out of local grasses/plants, with a bit of string and candle wax. So ambitious! Well, that didn't work out at all, and after much suffering, he bought me this silver ring from a Rasta "street" vendor on Caye Caulker. I say "street," because we only saw two cars on the whole island, it's more like a path for golf carts and pedestrians. Very quaint. Actually, the first ring he got was too big, it was v-shaped, but very similar. We traded it for the wave-shaped ring the next day, which fit perfectly.

Apparently my fingers were a little puffy in Belize due to the humidity or whatever, so the ring is a little loose back home in California. But I've gotten used to it. We did go to a couple of jewelry stores looking for a "real" engagement ring back in April. While ring shopping, I decided that I don't like faceted stones. They just seem so gaudy, ostentatious. For me, that is - I just don't feel right wearing a big, flashy rock. Or even a small one! I had told Denise (who told James) months ago that I didn't want a diamond, because the deBeers monopoly is just EVIL! Seriously, EEEEE-vil! They created the whole "diamond is forever" mythology back in the 40s and 50s to keep people from passing on their diamonds, to keep the demand up. They have created the whole American engagement ring tradition from scratch, and have tried to spread it around the world, to varying degrees of success.

Anyway, enough ranting. James asked me again last weekend if I was still happy with my ring. I said I am. He said I am the bestest fiance ever. Maybe I'm just the cheapest, I don't know. Nah, I'm pretty awesome. And so is he. We are very, very happy.