5 Years

by Pam

Five years ago today, Doug and I had race duty and stopped on the way to the lake to tie the knot. We were aiming for 7-8-09 as the date so that Doug wouldn't have to work too hard to remember it, plus the number would have been excellent feng shui. However, being a bit unorganized, we didn't get our paperwork done in time and had to settle for 7-18-09. Still a good feng shui number and not much harder to remember. A year later we announced our marriage to our friends and family. 

We hadn't bothered to exchange rings, names, etc. and this year I came across a ring ding that looked like it would fit Doug's finger and I jokingly put it on him. To my surprise he didn't take it off. After all, for a sailor it's quite practical. A short time later we found one that fit my finger and we suddenly had wedding rings. How many people have rings that will interlock forming the symbol for infinity, will save you or a friend in an emergency, can easily be replaced and, let's face it, it's pretty hard to get attached to the ring itself instead of its meaning. 

Years ago, I was a Notary and would notarize estate planning documents. The clients of the firm where I worked were the obscenely wealthy. At the time, there was a Power of Attorney document that had to be filled in and signed in front of witnesses as the attorney explained the options of making it effective upon death, disablement or with immediate effect. This was followed by an explanation that if it was effective immediately, the person to whom the power had been given could go out the next day and legally empty the bank accounts and sell everything belonging to the person giving the power. The husband would nod knowingly. 

Many of the couples that came in were older men with younger wives yet many were also close to the same age. The husband always seemed to be the one with the money (usually family money). Based on the size of the wedding ring the wife was wearing, regardless of age, I could predict with 100% accuracy which option the husband would select for when the Power of Attorney would become effective. The smaller the ring the more the trust.

All that to say, after watching this play out over and over, I was opposed to even having wedding rings ... but these are really a sailor's best friend.