Every now and again I catch myself looking down at my finger in awe. I say “in awe” because I cannot believe how lucky I am to wear the same diamonds on my finger that my father proposed to my mother with pictured below. (I took the shot of my mother's engagement ring and wedding band a year or two ago.)
I was extremely young when my dad passed and unfortunately, I have lived more than half my life without him. Although our time together was short (10 years to be exact), I know he loved my mom more than anything. I remember seeing them together and knowing that their relationship would be the kind I want some day. (I never thought I would be the one so attached to skiing and T would be the one with a torn ligament on the slopes. My parents had it the other way around 😉).
I honestly don’t know how the conversation happened but at some point, my sister and I decided who would get what of my mom’s jewelry one day. When it came time to talk about things from my dad, Jacqui had her eyes set on a specific diamond necklace so I went with the rings. Little did I know how much it would mean to me later on. After T asked my mom for permission, she gave him the rings in a favorite little town of ours, Sea Isle. Don’t ask how I missed the hand off but somehow, I didn’t take notice.
Our conversations soon became much more serious about marriage and you bet I made sure T had an idea in mind of what I wanted for an engagement ring. He had the ring reset and held on to it for the perfect moment to ask. I was getting a little suspicious and annoying, I assume, so T had to catch me by surprise (like really catch me) so I wouldn’t ruin it for myself.
He did a pretty darn good job, if I do say so myself. *all the heart eyes*
photographs by elizabeth friske