Okay. Now I’m a married woman. And I have a pretty wedding and engagement ring. But…unlike most wives or girlfriends or females in general…I would have KILLED Mike if he’d gotten me a really expensive ring.

My ring is a lab produced diamond (chemically identical to mined ones) and made with recycled metals. This makes my ring incredibly eco friendly. It also didn’t cost Mike 3 months worth of what he makes. I think it’s ridiculous to spend that much money on a ring. I’d be afraid to wear it. Especially with the kids, and school and being in the kitchen…no. Hell, I’ve been wanting to get a plain silver band to wear at school since i can’t wear my wedding ring anyways since it has stones in it (and I’m also afraid of messing it up).

And this is a ring that cost maybe…$200. I dunno for sure because obviously he didn’t tell me. But the fact that he knows me well enough to know that I’d want an eco friendly and inexpensive ring…that’s impressive. I might have cried if the ring had mined diamonds.

I also got him a ring that cost me about $70. It’s tungsten. And it is THE most durable ring I have ever seen. After…3.5 years it doesn’t have a scratch on it. And this ring has had some hard wear and tear. He wears it for almost everything. In fact, when I was pregnant with Erik, he was cooking dinner one night. His hand slipped and the knife hit his ring. Not a scratch. And my knives, by necessity, are SHARP!!! As in I put a divot in my finger if i barely touch it with one.

I say this to make a point. We women (and men too, if we’re being honest) shouldn’t strive for a big diamond or expensive ring. We should strive for a partner who knows us well enough to know what we’d want. We should also realize that the ring is just a symbol. Not a STATUS symbol, but a symbol that you love someone enough to commit yourself to them.

Obviously this post will go right over the heads of those people who will cheat anyways and who think that marriage is nothing more than a means to an end (that end being money, power, etc.), but hey. To each his own I guess.

Originally posted on Tumblr October 8, 2011