The Asparagus Bracelet

We eat a lot of asparagus around here. A lot. Like at least twice a week so I almost always have some in the fridge. 

One night several months ago, I was cooking some for supper and had taken the rubber bands off of the bundle and left them lying on the counter. Livy walked in, picked one up, and asked what it was. 

Drew, seizing the opportunity to earn some cool dad points, said, "It's a special bracelet, Liv, and I bought it just for you!"

Her eyes grew huge and from the look on her face you would've thought he told her it was diamond encrusted and made by a thousand tiny fairies. She instantly fell in love with it. She said something to the effect of I love it, Daddy! I'll never take it off! 

That Daddy. He can do no wrong. 

And she's tried her best to keep that promise. She wore it in her ballet recital, in a photoshoot we did with a friend, to the lake, the beach, VBS... The only time she doesn't wear it is when it breaks and we have to buy more asparagus to replace it. She lost it once at Pappy and Annie's house and I heard there were lots of tears involved until she found it again. 

So this morning for the first day of kindergarten I rhetorically asked if she was going to wear her bracelet to school. She told me that she had to wear it so she could look down at it and think of Dad. 

That girl is something else! And it definitely makes her daddy feel pretty special. 

My Memaw's Ring

This is a very sweet story that I had to write before I forgot one detail of it. And in order for this to make sense I have to tell 2 back stories to lead up to what happened today.

Let's take the beginning of this story back about 20 years to when I was a little girl...

Whenever we'd go visit my Memaw (my dad's mom) in White Hall, I'd sneak into her guest room where she kept all of her jewelry and sit at her vanity and play dress up. She'd let me put on every piece of jewelry she owned and although I loved them all, there was this one ring that was always so special to me. I just loved the way it looked. 

I had no idea at the time, but this ring was actually my Memaw's engagement ring. It was antique, simple, and so beautiful. She'd always tell me that one day when I grew up, she would give it to me. 

Time went on and I eventually out grew playing in her jewelry and had almost forgotten about her promise to me. My senior year of high school, we were at her house, and I can't remember if it was for Christmas or graduation, but she handed me a small gift box and inside was the ring! I immediately had a flood of memories rush through my head and I was so touched that she remembered her promise to me even though I had forgotten. 

I've worn it on my right ring finger ever since. My sweet Memaw passed away about 6 months before Drew and I got married and I love getting to carry around a piece of her every day. Every time I look down at that ring it makes me think of her and I smile. 

Now for the next part of the story... It's going to seem like these two stories have nothing to do with each other but bare with me! I promise it will all come together. 

So let's fast forward to year 2006 to hear about our engagement story...

It was 2 days before my 19th birthday and we were at the beach. I thought we were there to babysit for some family friends but really Drew had arranged the whole thing. 

He took me out to eat on August 11th at a restaurant called Gulf Island Grill. After dinner we came back to the hotel and took a moonlit walk on the beach. We were holding hands walking along the water when we saw a shooting star. I asked if he made a wish and he said "I'm about to make my wish come true." Then he got down on one knee, pulled out a ring, and asked me to marry him. It was so incredibly sweet in spite of my "are you serious?!?" response. 

That proposal has always been so precious to us. I mean, who proposes via shooting star on a moonlit beach?? He may not be the most romantic guy but he comes through when it counts. 

This brings us to this week... 

We are on vacation with my family at Fort Morgan beach, just a quick drive down the road from where we got engaged. It's been 10 years this month since Drew {finally} asked me to marry him so we've had fun reminiscing about all the details of that trip. 

We were getting ready to head down to the beach for the day and Drew asked if I was going to wear my rings down there. (They've gotten really loose since I've lost some weight). I said I would thinking I probably wouldn't even get to swim since I'd be taking care of Sadie. 

I was able to get her down for a nap and left her in the house with some family while Drew and I headed down to the beach to play with Olivia and Charlotte. We played in the sand for a long time and then I went out in the water and tossed the football around with Drew and my brother in law. 

I was about knee deep in the water when I caught the ball and as soon as it hit my hand I saw my Memaw's ring fly off and land in the water right in front of me. I immediately hollered at Drew and dropped to my knees to find it. My heart sank. The waves kept coming one after another and I could not find it. My whole family was in the water searching for it. Even the people next to us came over to help and lent us their goggles. 

I prayed the whole time. "God, I know this may seem silly but please help me find my ring. It's so special to me! You've helped me find it once before when I lost it, please help me again." We searched for probably 45 minutes with no luck. Sadie woke up and I had to go inside. I was crushed. I cried. It was irreplaceable and I had lost it. 

Everyone kept looking but it was no use. It was like trying to find a needle in a haystack, but much worse. I thanked everyone for their help but I didn't want to waste their time. It was gone. I cried and prayed again, "God, thanks for letting me look. It just wasn't meant for me to find it. I don't know why but there must be a reason."

Drew knew how bad I felt and was trying his best to help. He kept searching for it. He even Googled metal detector searchers he could hire. 

He came inside and asked if he could take me out to dinner to help me feel better. I said, "I would LOVE to." We left the kids with my family and had our first date night since Sadie was born. He took me to one of our favorite places to eat, The Oyster House. We walked around and did some shopping while we waited for our table, ate way too much at supper, then got some ice cream before heading back to the beach house. 

When we pulled up, Drew asked if I'd help him take the canopy down that was out by the water. We got it fixed for the night and then he said, "Let's walk out here for just a minute before going back in to the girls."

We held hands and walked for just a little ways when he stopped me and said he needed to reenact something. I thought he was just being silly and talking about our engagement night again. 

Then he got down on one knee and said, "Give me your right hand." 

I said, "What? Why?"

He said, "Just do it. Give me your hand."

I held my hand out and he slipped something on my ring finger. I said, "What is that?" Then he shined a light on my hand.

IT WAS MY RING. My Memaw's ring!!!

Tears instantly started rolling. I asked How? When?? Where??? He just smiled and hugged me while I sobbed. Like ugly crying sobbing. 

He said once we all called it quits on the search party, he decided to look one more time and there it was. Glistening in the bottom of the sandy ocean floor. Instead of giving it to me right then he wanted to make it special because he knew how much it meant to me. He combined the meaningfulness of that ring with the night he proposed and made it a night I'll never forget. 

God didn't want me to find it. He wanted my husband to find it so he could do something much more special with it. I'm going to bed with a thankful heart. My ring is back on my finger and I have a husband who would do anything just to make me smile. It has been one emotional day and I'm so incredibly thankful!