a sparkly tribute to love

Ok, so I've never been a big proponent of the whole Facebook picture over-share when it comes to engagement rings. You know what I'm talking about...the ring photographed from 27 different angles and then placed in the middle of a flower (typically a red rose) for an additional 13, each with a caption like "~*t*H*e R*o*C*k~" or "My~***~BaBy~***~DiD~***~GoOd" (don't even get me started on the squiggly lines, asterisks or alternating capitalized and lower-case letters unless you'd like a 15-minute rant on how girls must type like that for the sole reason of annoying the living daylights out of people like me. How long did your profile take to create, anyway? Just those six words alone took me about 10 minutes...)

That all being said, I did want to post just one great close-up of the ring for my friends and family who haven't seen it in person yet and have asked, repeatedly, for proof that it does in fact exist. So this is where, conveniently, my blog comes in. I can not only share a great photo of the ring I am blessed to wear on my left hand, but also the sweet story behind it without the details being super public on Facebook (like this blog is any more private, but I'm guessing only a handful of people read it anyway so...whatever, you get the point).

I love this ring not only because of what it represents, who gave it to me, and how beautiful it is, but also because of where it came from. While Corey was talking with his mom one day, the subject turned to me, and then to marriage. After telling her I was "The One" and his plans for the future, she let him in on a little secret that he never knew about until that moment: his grandmother had been saving her original engagement ring to give to him when the time was right (she now wears another ring that Mr. Christenberry designed for her later on in their marriage). Knowing how much Corey's grandparents mean to him, and how important they now are to me, made this gift infinitely more special because of the history it carries. Both of us place an incredible emphasis on how special our families are to us, so getting to wear the ring that his grandmother wore as she and Mr. Christenberry built their family and lives together brings me overwhelming joy. Engraved on the inside of the band are his grandparents initials and wedding date, and I am excited to add our own, CDM to HSC 9.10.11, alongside their legacy of love and devotion. These days, so many people say that marriage is "overrated," but it's mementos like my 55-year-old ring that remind me that it absolutely is not. Love and marriage, like this ring, can stand up to life's challenges and exist as a tribute to a life well-spent and well-built.