Symbols

On December 15, 2013, Daniel slipped my wedding ring on my finger. This symbol of our eternal love has remained on my finger ever since, daily reminding me of these bonds which will never be broken. Well, sort of. That’s the dream at least. In reality, I take my ring off for several reasons. I remove it when getting a massage. I switch it out for a cheap fake ring when traveling. Sometimes my finger’s just itchy. But the idea’s still there. Today while preparing to head out to a massage my ring was quite a bit harder to take off than usual. Who knew that being 33 weeks pregnant would make my fingers swell?

I realized, as I finally got it off with lotion and sheer will, that I would probably need to leave it off for the rest of my pregnancy. It was a bittersweet moment. This ring has been a part of me for nearly 6 years, and now my little naked finger with its light indented circle just seems sad. But at the same time, the reason is pretty obviously good. It reminded me of another powerfully symbolic moment that our family had this year.

Last year when we first started thinking and chatting about what it would be like if we were to have a child, I read a pretty touching blog article from one of my favorite fair trade shops, Ten Thousand Villages. It was all about The Harmony Bell Tradition, which is basically a bell necklace worn by pregnant women in different parts of the world as a soothing sound for the baby in the womb and after birth as well. Not knowing what in the world I was going to do with it, I bought one (yes, I’m that susceptible to content marketing). It hung near our photo wall for nearly a year.

In early March Daniel had an appendectomy and was stuck a few days in bed recovering and well medicated. During that time I suspected and then confirmed I was pregnant. He was excited, but couldn’t really move, so we hugged softly from a distance. But the moment that really stands out was when he said “go get the bell.” And with a smile on both of our faces, he slipped the bell over my head. I wore it for months before anyone else knew I was pregnant. It was like our own secret symbol of the joy we were living and has continued to be a soothing reminder for me when the stress of life has nearly distracted me from remembering the beautiful season we’re in as a family.

So while one family symbol will be sitting by my bedside for a few months, there is another around my neck that reminds me that because of one commitment made years ago, our love is bringing another fantastic member to our family.