Do you? I DO!

Hal ordered his wedding band online last week. Yes, online. What can we say, we’re a couple on a budget and I was most concerned with making sure he got something he liked and would wear. He was choosing between a titanium and tungsten band, but decided on the latter since it had significantly more weight to it. There was definitely a joke in there about the ring representing the weight of marriage on his soul, or something silly like that…

We had his ring finger measured at a jewelry store and then that evening he purchased it, unbeknownst to me. (By the way, did you know your ring size is usually the same as your shoe size?) I knew he had been looking at them but didn’t realize he had gone ahead and ordered it. It was kind of a sweet moment when he told me he bought it – like, wow he really does want to marry me. Of course I knew this already (hence the ring I wear every day) but it was a nice reminder.

And then it came in the mail a few days later. Just like that his wedding band was sitting in our house, waiting to be worn at any moment. He opened it and I slipped it on his finger (September 26, 2010 be damned). I’m fairly certain that in Haiti this means we’re married. It was a perfect fit! He wore it for the rest of the day. Having never worn any type of rings on his fingers, Hal was unaccustomed to the feel and the weight, which was his reasoning for continually wearing it. “I’m really going to need to get used to this”. I told him that he’d better get used to it (but I said it sweetly). It looks good on him; the color of the tungsten suits him, and it’s clearly a strong, noticeable band. We like this.

Actually, I think Hal really likes it. He wore it again the next day (but only at home), and I actually got on bended knee at one point and proposed to him with it (why not have a little fun, right). He’s worn it to sleep and in the shower. At this point, I’m not sure if he’s getting accustomed to it or testing out its reputation for being incredibly durable.

Just as Hal will from time to time affectionately run his finger along my engagement ring, the way you might run your fingers along a picture like you’re trying to touch the memory of when it was taken, is what I kept doing to his ring. Maybe some might think we're jinxing things by having him wear the ring 'just around'. But this practice period doesn't mean the significance of the band means less to us. I think it's actually been reinforcing just how much we can't wait to be married to each other, to make it official. When he finally took it off, we both missed it.

I feel like we’re in almost-wedded bliss. The future Skelley’s have a lot to look forward to.