A Tradition

If you look at any photographs of me taken during February through August of 2003 or during February through September of 2004 or any taken since March 4th of this year, you will see the same thing in every single picture.



A black cord around my neck with Dave's wedding ring. It's a tradition that we have during deployments in a combat zone.

When Dave left for Desert Storm in 1991, he wasn't allowed to wear any jewelry. So before he left, he put his wedding ring on a black silk cord and put it around my neck. It did not come off until he came back home to me.



When he left in 2003 for Operation Iraqi Freedom, he told me that he would wear it if I wanted; but that he would really like it if I wore it again. He said that he felt like nothing could ever happen to him if his heart was next to mine.

It's been a tradition ever since. It's one of the last things we do before he gets on the bus and it's one of the first things we do when we see each other again. We even make a little ceremony of it.



Having it there makes me feel better too. It's like a worry stone, I find myself reaching up and holding it without even realizing it. Then after he comes home, I find myself reaching for it, and finding it gone. It takes me a few weeks to get used to it not being there.

All three of the last times I put that ring back where it belonged, I thought that it would be the last time I would have to wear his ring like that. This time, I'm not going to have that luxury. This time when he comes home, I know he's going back in another 11 months. His ring will stay where it belongs for almost a year before I take it back and start the worry process all over again.

BUT....that one will be the last time!