Christmas Memories

It's been a good Christmas.

I honestly wasn't expecting to say those words this year, but it's true. Christmas seems to bring out the best in people, and create the best memories of our too-fleeting lives. A great example of the best that could happen is the cease-fire incident of World War I that started in Ypres and moved throughout the entire front line of the war. (To read more about that, click here.)

From a personal perspective, my finest Christmas memory is now twelve years old. It was on Christmas in 1996 that I asked Allyson to be my wife. She said yes, for some reason, by the way...that's what makes it a good memory.

But this year comes close to matching that one, and I'm going to tell you why--but it requires some backstory.

About two months back, I was working at Dr. NO's doing the things that I normally do: ringing up customers, sorting and filing comics, and that sort of thing. At some point, my wedding band fell off my hand. Pretty much everyone at the store looked for it, as well as some people who just wanted to help out, and even though I appreciate all the effort that everyone put into the search, sadly the results were negative. My ring was gone.

I was crushed. That ring had tremendous sentimental value to me, and not just because I was given it on my wedding day. At the time of our wedding, my wife was unemployed, and couldn't afford to buy me a ring. I told her not to worry, that at some point we would have the money and until then I could just wear a simple hematite band that we found at a nature store. She was sad, but understanding. Of course, she also wasn't content to leave things there. She took her hunting rifle (yes, my wife used to have a hunting rifle) and went from pawn shop to pawn shop, looking to trade it for a ring. She didn't have the success that she hoped for, as her rifle was not in demand and there wasn't enough value to get a ring. That is, until she stopped at a pawn shop up in Kennesaw and was again turned down--and she broke down crying. The shop owner asked what was wrong, and she told him her story. With a smile, he pulled out a large bag of rings and told her to take her pick. At our wedding, she surprised me with that ring--as anyone that attended our wedding is sure to remember.

But that ring went away, and I was devastated.

Then, about four weeks ago, I canceled Christmas at our house. Once again, Allyson is unemployed--like far too many people today--and this time is worse than ever before. We are struggling to survive, and we quite literally don't know what the future holds for us. We have been forced to make some dramatic decisions in our lives, and are facing a greater change than we ever have. Our future is uncertain, and our stress is at an amazing level, but we cling to each other for strength through all of this--and today she reminded me why.

Once again, Allyson took to the pawn shops, carrying with her this time a wide array of jewelry that she no longer decided she needed, determined to find me a ring to replace the one that I lost. She didn't have as much success this time around, as the economic situation has hit even pawn shops--they couldn't offer her enough to pay for a ring. Once again dejected, she turned to the most unlikely of all places: the mall. Wandering through in hopes to find me a small gift for the holidays--even though we told each other "no presents!"--her eye was caught by a kiosk that was displaying men's wedding bands. And when she looked at the price, she was stunned. It was well within her own price range, mainly due to the simple fact that it wasn't gold or even silver--it was made of stainless steel.

So, this morning when we got up for the day, and wandered down to our not-decorated living room we both surprised each other with a couple of small presents (yeah, I broke the rule, too). I got her a couple of books, a calander and a Wonder Woman hoodie that I knew she wanted from Dr. NO's. She gave me a small tin filled with a spice blend that she knew I loved. And then she told me to open it.

Inside was a brilliant piece of shining metal. A new wedding band that she bought me to replace the one that I lost. I put it on, and it fit perfectly. I was in shock then, and am still a little choked up writing this now. I hadn't made much of losing the ring, as I didn't want her to feel guilty about me not having one, but since it disappeared, I have felt...wrong. As though a part of me was missing. Now, I look down at my left hand as I type this, and a gleaming piece of metal shines back up at me.

A stainless steel wedding band might not be the ideal thing to most, but for me, there is nothing more beautiful than that chunk of metal that is resting on my figure. Except, of course, for the woman that bought it for me. That might sound a little overly dramatic and sickly romantic, but it is really how I feel right now. Christmas was saved for me, by a simple piece of common metal, brought to me in a very uncommon way.

In the grand scheme of things, this doesn't compare with the event at Ypres that I mentioned earlier, but to me, at this moment, it is one of the greatest events in the history of the holiday.

I hope that all of you have had a wonderful Christmas day, whether you choose to celebrate the actual holiday or not. There is a magic to this time of year that truly does create memories, and this year it has created one that I will never forget.

Another SIlly Test Thingie...

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