People never consider the drawbacks of a long marriage -- I mean aside from the obvious problems that come with spending decades with the same person.
I'm talking about the logistics, specifically the fact that I was a thinner person 22 years ago and my wedding ring was a whirling, gold circlet on my left hand. Now my ring is a bit of a tourniquet and for the second time this summer, the skin under my ring has become itchy and flaky.
I twisted and pulled and tugged before the ring finally popped off. I put it on the rarely-used ring holder, giving my finger time to heal.
"Do you think you're allergic?" Earl asked when I showed him the agitated look of my skin, and also to alert him to the fact that I'd removed my wedding ring.
"It took an awful long time to get a reaction if I'm allergic," I replied. "I think it's just too tight."
He tugged on his ring and admitted that his would have a hard time coming off too.
The obvious solutions are to get the ring resized or maybe we should spring for a new ring!
So for now, I'm going ringless and it feels a little daring.
No worries though. No one is about to mistake me for a single lady. It would probably take another 22 years for that mark around my finger to fade.
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