# 6 The Story of the Rogue Ring

Click Here for Audio Version

This is a picture of my husband's parents on the day of our wedding. I wrote about my father-in-law in Blog 4. Now it is time to tell a story about my mother-in-law. She was the perfect MIL, helpful, supportive, but never intrusive. Like my own mom, she loved the Lord and her family. She truly had the gift of hospitality and was a marvelous cook as well as a gracious hostess. 

Growing up during The Great Depression affected Mother greatly. She saw her family lose their farm. She watched her father's first retail business fail, though thankfully the family's second try was a success. All of this left its mark on her. Like Scarlett O'Hara in "Gone with the Wind", she was determined never to live poorly again. 

Mother knew the value of a dollar but was not cheap. She liked nice things and patiently shopped until she found exactly what she had in mind. In her handbag were fabric swatches and paint samples, shopping lists and measurements. She had an eye for good design both in home furnishings and apparel. 

March is the birth month Mother and I share. Her birthday is at the first of the month while mine is at the end. March's birthstone is the aquamarine. Mother decided to have a birthstone ring made. She worked with a local jeweler, and the ring turned out lovely.

Not long after that, my in-laws decided to go on a cruise. When we think about it now, HeHimself and I cannot picture either one of them sailing off into the Caribbean, but they did. Though my FIL usually took lots of pictures, strangely we have found none of this trip. Maybe because of what I am about to tell, they were just as happy to forget the cruise. 

Both Mother and Dad got some new duds for the adventure. Good at organizing as she was, my MIL probably had each day's outfits planned down to the last detail. Of course she took along matching accessories, including the new ring. She said she put it into one of those brocade jewelry rolls along with her bracelets, necklaces, pins, and earrings and it tucked into the bottom of her locked train case. 

I think she intended to take the case as a carry-on aboard the flight to Florida where they were meeting their cruise ship. Somehow at the last minute the train case got checked with the rest of their luggage. You can guess how this chance happening turned out, and not for the good. 

I am not sure if they discovered the loss of the ring when they collected their bags at the airport or not until they were unpacking in their stateroom. At any rate, somewhere between home and the ship, the beautiful aquamarine ring went missing, never to be seen again. Of course the loss would be covered by insurance, but the idea of someone rifling through their things was off-putting and cast at least somewhat of a damper on the trip. They never took another cruise.

When my in-laws returned home Mother had another ring made which was ever so nice, but I had the feeling it never quite made up for the lost one. You might think that is  the end of the story, but as at one point in my Blog 5 about my mom and the pig, so it is with this tale, there is a lot more to tell.

Time moved on and one night when my father-in-law came home from a midweek church meeting, he found Mother stretched out on the kitchen floor. Her skirt was straightened out and her hands were folded. Since she sometimes did such a thing if her back was bothering her, he thought she was just resting and had fallen asleep. It appeared she had been cooking something as there was a pan on the stove. He walked over and tapped her foot with his. "Time to wake up, Toots, I'm home."  Since he was a Chiropractor, he added, "If you're hurting, I can work on your back now."  

Mother did not respond, and though medical help was summoned, it was to no avail. Sadly, she had passed away, quietly and with no agony it appeared, right in her own kitchen. Even though she had just recently passed a physical, an undiagnosed condition was the cause of death. Since we were living in another state, HeHimself and I, along with our two young sons, quickly flew to be with Dad and to stay a while after the funeral. 

Other relatives flew in as well. With Dad's approval, Mother's sisters and I went through her closet and picked out her funeral clothes. Dad said he wanted her to wear the aquamarine ring for the visitation and service, but that it should not be buried with her. The search for the ring began. 

We looked in every closet and drawer, every pocket and purse. We even sifted flour and sugar from the kitchen canisters and poked into jars of lotion and face cream in hopes of finding it. The ring was nowhere to be found. We frantically kept hunting right up to the time of the funeral, but in the end, it was no use, the ring had disappeared.

In the days following, we helped Dad get the house set up for him living alone. Housekeepers were interviewed and one hired to come in twice a week on a trial basis, just to see how things went. All that time we still kept an eye out for the ring, but no luck. At last it was time for us to go home and Dad to start a new life.

Some little time passed, and then one day Dad called to say he had decided to rent out the big house and move into a smaller place. He was about to start sorting and packing for the move. My heart went out to him facing such a huge task alone. So, after talking it over with HeHimself, it was decided that I should fly out for a week to help Dad get things gone through and lined up for his new home.

The week was a whirlwind of activity. Even though my mother-in-law kept an orderly home, there was the accummulation of 37 years of married life to be dealt with. So much stuff to look at, so many boxes to be packed, so many decisions to be made. So little time. All the while I was also hoping that in the least likely of places the errant ring would show up. That would have lifted our spirits for sure. 

At last the end of the week came. I was flying home early the next morning. All the cupboards and closets had been gone through. All the boxes stood ready to be taken to the new house. Dad sat on the bed in the master bedroom. I walked through the empty rooms, checking that all was in order and to see we had not missed anything. Even though we did not mention it, I think we were both disappointed we had not found the ring. What could have happened to it? Was it, like the first one, never to be seen again?

As I walked down the hall to the guest room, my eye caught sight of a metal tissue box on the guest bath vanity. I smiled. I remembered how Mother, with her usual eye for detail, had had the decorators paint the box to match the walls, picking up just the right color from the accent wallpaper. 

I picked up the tissue box, carrying it to the master bedroom. "What about this?", I asked. "Do you want to leave it for the renters or take it with?" As I said that I tossed the box down onto the bed. When the box landed gently, we heard a soft clunk from inside. We looked at each other, our eye widening. Dad picked up the box and opened the bottom. You know what is coming, right?  Yup, out fell the aquamarine ring. 

We will never know how it came to be there. Perhaps the tissue box was Mother's secret hiding place for this second ring after having the first one perloined, as it were. Or did she put the ring on the top of the box while washing her hands or fixing her hair, got called to the door or phone, and forgot about it? Some time later might the ring have slid into the opening in the top of box or gotten bumped there by someone else, not noticing? However it happened, we were so happy and thankful the lost was found. 

In the end, Dad gave the ring to me since my birthday was in March too. It is a sweet memento of Mother, and I treasure it. But the ring was not done with its disappearing act. One time it went walk-about on me too, slipping between two stacks of towels in the linen closet. Once I found that Rascal again, I decided not to give it any more chances to take a hike. It now lives in our safe deposit box except when I take it out to wear on special occasions, and then we all keep a very close eye on it. You can just never be sure about those aquamarines.