Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky,
Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone,
Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die,
One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.
One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,
One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie

I made a decision earlier today: it’s time to part with my wedding ring.  Part of it’s because I could use the little money I’ll get for it.  Mostly it’s just time to move on and put the past behind me.  It’s probably the nicest gift the STBX ever gave me.  I actually like the ring, and I am NOT a jewelry guy by any stretch of the imagination.  The only other ring I’ve ever really owned was my high school class ring and I NEVER wore that.  As a matter of fact, I sold that one in a similar fashion a few years back.

I remember visiting my brother in Minnesota, shortly before he told us that he and his first wife were getting a divorce, and seeing both of their rings sitting in a glass jar in their bathroom.  I was shock at the time to realize that they weren’t wearing them.  Little did I know that just a short time later, I would do the same thing with my ring.

It’s strange.  When we first got married, I tried to wear it nearly 24/7.  I tried a few times, to wear it at night.  The first time I did, I took it off in my sleep and put it, literally in the center of the bed – between the STBX and I.  I should have taken that as an omen of things to come.  It’s as if my wedding ring was the Negative One Ring.  Instead of becoming addicted to it, it’s as if I became resistant to it.  I stopped wearing it shortly into my marriage – because it was actually starting to bother my skin. Maybe it’s fake gold – I don’t know.

For a while, I seriously considered destroying the ring myself.  In fact, J had told me he could get the materials to melt it down. As much satisfaction as I would have gotten from doing so, I decided against it.  the fact is, I can use the money i’d get from selling it to a jewelry store.  The Auteur had even suggested I save it in case The Boy wanted it some day when/if he gets married.  I briefly considered this idea as well; except that the ring contains the inscription: “Always forever and a day, *******”.  I thought that would be a little weird for The Kid to have such an inscription on his ring – even if he got it from his old man.

UPDATE:  Thursday June 26, 2013.  4:56 PM.

I did it.  Yesterday I took the ring to a local, and pretty reputable, jewelry store.  I was surprised how much they offered for it.  More than what the STBX originally paid for it.  It’s nice to know that the STBX’s symbol of “love and fidelity” increased from $150 to $210 in just under 13 years.

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