It Came To Me In A Dream

For the last few months I have been wondering what to do with Shawn's wedding ring. Since the time I moved back to Michigan it has been in my bedroom sitting on a shelf next to a YSU football helmet, his necklace, his sunglasses, his eye glasses, his two college football championship rings, and my wedding rings. It's kind of a shelf dedication all to Shawn. When I decided it was time to take off my rings I liked the fact that our rings were sitting on the shelf next to each other. I'm not sure why but when I took my rings off I got some sort of comfort having our rings touch on the shelf.

However, the last few months I have been wanting to do something "special" with Shawn's wedding ring. It just didn't feel right having it sit on the shelf anymore, but I couldn't figure out what I wanted to do with it. I didn't want to wear it around my neck because I already have his thumb print pendant, which I still wear every single day and it gives me so much comfort. For a little while I thought about putting my wedding rings and his in a shadow box, but then after thinking about it I didn't like that idea either. I knew I wanted to do something, but wasn't sure what and my uncreative mind wasn't working with me.

Then last Monday the night before the one year anniversary of Shawn's death the idea came to me in a dream. In my dream Shawn and I were getting ready to go out for a special date night. It had been a while since I had a dream about Shawn, so I was grateful for the opportunity to "see" him and "hear" him once again. Anyways in my dream we were getting ready to go for a special dinner. We were just getting ready to leave the house when he told me he had a surprise for me. I turned around and Shawn gave me a box with a bow on top of it. Inside of the box was a white gold ring. He then told me that he didn't know what finger I would want to wear the ring on so he didn't have it sized. Well the ring in my dream was too big for my fingers so Shawn suggested that I wear it on my thumb just for that night because he wanted me to wear it. We left the house for our special dinner, and I wore the ring on my thumb. The only strange thing in my dream was that I actually couldn't see what the ring looked like, I just knew it was a white gold ring.

The next morning when I woke up I knew exactly what I wanted to do with Shawn's wedding ring. I instantly knew I wanted to make Shawn's wedding ring into a thumb ring for me. That way I could always wear it, it would always be with me, and it wouldn't be just sitting on the shelf. I called a jeweler and asked if they could make me a ring out of my husband's wedding band and he told me sure, to just come with a few ideas and he would draw it up for me. I knew in my head what I wanted the design to look like, but me not being an artist was having a hard time drawing it up for the jeweler. I knew I wanted the ring to be a band style but have a "love knot" in the middle. I started googling images and found exactly what I was looking for. I met with the jeweler and was able to change the design to make it exactly how I wanted it. Below is the picture I found. Instead of yellow gold mine will be white gold...because that is what Shawn's wedding ring is. Then my ring wont have diamonds on the side, because Shawn's wedding ring didn't have that many diamonds. Instead the six diamonds that are in Shawn's ring will be placed at the top where the little cross over knot is. The band will look very similar to the one in the picture. So I found the design on the internet, but I'm still able to make it my own. So what do you all think? It will take three weeks for the ring to be recreated and I can't wait to get it back! As soon as I get it back I will post a before and after picture of Shawn's ring. Maybe I will get it back before three weeks, I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

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A few days ago I got a card in the mail from the funeral home in Ohio where Shawn first went right after he died. They sent me a card telling me they were thinking of me on the one year anniversary. The message in the card was wonderful and so very true I thought I would share it all with you. It says....

"Grief is a journey....
We move from seeing
the person by sight
To seeing them in memories...
At first they are too painful,
and every memory breaks our hearts.
Gradually they help us establish the
significance of our loss...
In time, our memories become our
most precious possessions.
The memories wrap
themselves around our being,
And our loved one is reborn
inside of our hearts.
That is called...
The journey of Grief
~Doug Manning