yesterday afternoon, as i was beginning our dinner prep (usually around 3:45....i know that sounds early to some of you, but i tend to take just over an hour to make most of our dinners, and we eat between 5:00 and 5:30. otherwise i have three crabby boys to contend with as well as make dinner...so i choose early dinners with happier kids underfoot), rowan walks into the kitchen holding my ring holder that was just moments before securely sitting on the back part of my dresser. this ring holder was holding a ring i wear on my right hand, and my wedding set and engagement ring (as i was gardening earlier and i don't garden with my rings on), however one of my wedding bands was missing.

kenny and i wear antique rings as we're partial to the antique style. so we wear white gold, turn-of-the-century rings. my wedding set didn't come with my engagement ring, it went with another ring altogether, but we chose it because it also matched my ring. the engagement ring is worn between the wedding bands. and one of them slipped off when rowan decided to play with my ring holder as a "treasure."

first of all, how do you think you would have reacted to this? admittedly, i was angry. i made rowan retrace his steps, i made him sit on his bed while i retraced his steps, i told him never (EVER!) to touch the things on my dresser (this is a rule in our house and he knows it) and the ring didn't turn up. after about a half hour of searching, he knew it was serious. so then we had the conversation: about how this ring was very important and symbolic to me, but he and his brothers are more precious to me than anything, even this ring, and i forgave him since he apologized a few times while we searched for the ring. all was good again (to him), but my heart was sick at the thought of my wedding band had gone missing.

several hours later, after getting adam out of the bath and getting his pajamas on, i noticed he was holding something in his hands. i'm sure you know what it was: i looked at my left ring finger to see my engagment ring and the other half of my wedding ring, so he was definitely holding the missing part.

we heaved a BIG OLD sigh of relief, with much rejoicing, especially between rowan and i. probably because forgiveness (and in his case) forgetting had already happened.

so what's my lesson here?
a/ forgive your child for their mistakes and you'll get your way (you'll get the ring back)?
b/ huff and puff angrily for a while to get your kids to apologize?
c/ don't EVER take your wedding bands off, even when gardening/cooking with raw meat/bread/dough, etc?
d/ get those three rings sodered together?

anyone care to add any more?