I've been wearing Dan's ring lately. For the past couple of days, I've had outfits and occasions that called for gold jewelry, and I have this ring he gave me, and a gold chain, so voila - I traded in my usual silver tree of life* for a gold necklace. It's weird. Wearing it as just another piece of jewelry...when...well, when in all probability it would have been his wedding ring.

*I'm not sure I've ever told the story, or how many people notice that I always wear this necklace (on the rare occasions when different jewelry is called for, I still always have it on me, in a pocket or my purse). Jennings and I may have known each other forever, but there was a distinct time, at least in my mind, when we became particularly important to each other. We were in college, had been growing closer...and were both going through a rough time. A friend of his had 'woken up dead' (as he put it at the time) and I had recently broken up with Dan...and we were there for each other. Several months later he gave me the necklace, both as a birthday present and as a way of saying thank you. I consider it one more thing - a reminder to be there for people, and to let them be there for me. I'm not very good at the latter, but the tangible daily reminder helps a bit.