THE LOST RING
By: Donna Hale Chandler
All sorts of strange things happen to the members in my family. From a wandering happy birthday helium balloon that escaped its owner and landed in my daughter’s yard ON HER BIRTHDAY, to my son talking to his deceased grandfather when he was a small child, to the ring that I lost. The lost ring is what I’m going to try to explain today,
The ring belonged to my mother, who passed away several years ago. It was too small for my ring finger and a little big for my pinkie finger. It was a beautiful ring but why have beautiful things stored away for safe keeping? I wear the ring, not often, but I wear it. I wear it on my pinkie finger and keep a close watch on it so that it doesn’t slip off.
I came home from running errands and doing a little shopping a few weeks ago. I was exhausted, fixed myself a cold beverage and fell into my recliner to wait until my ‘second breath’ kicked in. It was then that I noticed that the ring was gone. It was not on my finger. I racked my brain, trying to remember when I last saw it. I’m sure I had it when I had lunch with my daughter, at least I think I did.
I was carrying several large packages when I got home so I dug out every bag to make sure it hadn’t slipped off as I was unpacking. I retraced my steps to the car, checking the sidewalk and the grass. I practically stood on my head, checking under the car seats. Sadly, it was nowhere to be found. I told myself that it wasn’t the end of the world, I would not let myself stress over the loss. But of course, I did.
If, I had it on at lunch, I only stopped at one store after that so maybe it came off in that store as I struggled with two rather heavy bags. Even though I told myself not to stress, I decided I would call the store and see if anyone turned in a ring. I severely doubted it but it was worth a try and I could stay in my recliner as I made the call.
The store was pretty busy when I was there and it must still must have been because no one answered the phone. Oh well, I told myself, I tried. However, within a very few minutes I was gathering up my car keys to drive back to the store and ask in person, plus look around the floor, of course. (So much for not stressing,) As luck would have it, the owner greeted me as I walked in the door but the answer was not what I wanted to hear when I asked if anyone turned in a ring.
I started to leave but something held me right there by the checkout counter where I had paid for my purchases. I looked all around the floor, nothing. I remembered grabbing those heavy bags and hastily getting out of the way so the customer behind me could check out. Next to the checkout station was a stack of boxes waiting to be opened. I had stepped to those boxes, sat my bags down so I could put away my change and get a better grip.
Maybe that’s when the ring came off, when I was readjusting the bags. I scanned the floor around the boxes, again nothing. And again, something held me there. I just didn’t feel ready to walk through that door and go to my car. My mind was whirling. As people walked past me, I looked again at the boxes. They were about an inch away from the wall. I peered down that little crack and there it was. The Ring, I FOUND IT even though it was almost hidden and probably would not have been found until someone moved those boxes. By then I would have moved on, minus one ring.
I was so happy that no one answered the phone at the store when I called, because if they had, and they told me ‘No ring’, I most likely would not have made the trek back to the store and would not have stood around long enough to cause concern by the owner. I would not have peeked into that small crack.
It couldn’t have worked out better. Well, better would have been not losing the ring at all, but you know what I mean. I found a needle in a haystack.
Am I The Only One 