every girl's worst nightmare turned into her dream come true

It happened to me about a month ago. I had gone to the grocery store that morning and anyone who is a mother knows, when you go to the grocery store with your small child in tow, things get a little chaotic. I remember flinging groceries into the back end of my car with reckless abandon in hopes to shave off a few extra seconds of having the back end leaking in cold winter air where Liam was sitting. The whining coming from the backseat was a tried and true sign he was clearly ready to go home too. Same story when I hauled in the groceries ... complete reckless abandon because I never want to leave him too long. Liam happily played on top of the brand new package of paper towels while I put everything away. I fed him lunch, laid him down for his nap, cleaned up the mess that was my bathroom floor (desperate times call for desperate measures when you are trying to get ready for the day) and was just about to sit down for the first time when I noticed it. 

MY WEDDING RING WAS GONE. 

I'm not sure if I've ever felt a more weighted sickness in my stomach before. I am definitely not one who becomes incredibly attached to material possessions because everything can almost always be replaced but my wedding ring? That exact same one can not. It is the one material thing in my life that I would be heart broken to lose. 

I did an immediate tail spin into an emotional wreck and began retracing my steps in our home as I kept crying out "No, this can not be happening" over and over again before I realized I needed to fall to my knees. Besides the prayers I shared with God while Liam was in the NICU, I don't think I have ever prayed so hard to find it. I wish I could say I stood up from that prayer convinced I would and overcome with peace but I wasn't. I called Nic right after that and naturally scared him half to death. If there was ever evidence that he loves me, it was that day. He rushed out of work to retrace every single one of my steps at the grocery store since I couldn't leave while Liam was napping. As I racked my brain for some sign, I remembered being over by the banana section of the store and hearing almost a tinking sound as if something metal had hit the floor. I remember looking around me but seeing nothing and simply moving on. That moment made me convinced I had to have lost it there. Almost 3 hours had gone by since I had left the grocery store and I was sure by now that if I had in fact lost it at the grocery store, that someone probably already found it by then and it was likely gone forever. While there are good people in this world who may turn something like that in, there are a lot of people I'm afraid who would not. Not a diamond wedding ring that to them was worth a lot of money anyway. But to me, it was worth so so much more. 

My sweet husband knew there wasn't much he could say to make me feel better but he stayed positive for me the whole time. "We can post pictures and take flyers to local pawn shops in case anyone turns it in. Don't worry yet." While he searched and searched the grocery store, especially that darn banana section, I tore apart my car and our entire house looking for it. I looked under seats, through the garbage can, every place I had stowed groceries, in toy bins, and nothing. The tears continued to fall and my heart grew sadder and more hopeless with each passing minute. And then it came to me, what I believed at the time to be my very last resort at home and the only place I had not looked. Right after I put Liam down for his nap I had cleaned up my disastrous bathroom floor. I remembered tossing my hair dryer in the cupboard underneath the bathroom sink thinking that there was a chance it might be under there. It was worth a shot to look. Anything was at this point because I was so desperate. This whole time I had kept praying that if I had lost it anywhere that it was in our home. I knew if it was, there was more of a chance it would turn up someday. I reluctantly opened that bottom cupboard and lifted up the hair dryer and there it was!!!!! Lying there amongst the cord. It must have slid off when I tossed my hair dryer under there and I didn't even notice. Just as fast as that devastatingly horrible sinking feeling that overcame me when I realized it was gone, it was immediately replaced with complete joy and relief!! SO MUCH RELIEF! 

It is every girl's worst nightmare to lose her wedding ring because it means so much more than just money invested. It symbolizes an eternal bond with someone you love. It serves as a constant reminder of the commitments you made on your wedding day to that person. It represents the life that we share together and all the joys and heartbreaks that come with that life. It is a physical representation of the start of a family, one that has already grown and will continue to grow. It is the one material possession that just can not be replaced because there isn't that exact same one out there. And while I know life would obviously go on without it, it is special to me and I can't even tell you how grateful I am that my prayers were answered that day and that I found it. 

Now, this story serves as a constant reminder to me to slow down. To not rush through my day as much and to always be grateful for the power of prayer, grateful for a husband who is my rock in hard times, and grateful that I share a love so deep that this beautiful ring represents. Because that right there is every girl's dream come true.       

... Taken moments after I found it ...