Wise Owl

On the longest night of all the year
in the forests up the hill,
the little owl spoke soft and clear
to bid the night be longer still.


from Six Quatrains, by Ursula K. LeGuin


It has been  well over a year since I’ve worn my gold wedding ring regularly. Over time it started to get a bit tight, and one evening while playing soccer I caught my hand in the net and had a bit of a scare trying to get the ring off while my finger started to swell. So I started wearing my silver engagement ring instead, which fit a bit looser. 

Several months ago I somehow misplaced the silver ring. I would only have taken it off for a moment, so I really couldn’t fathom where it had gone. We looked all over for it - in the house, in the cars, at school, around the house - no luck.

After some days without the ring I asked my wife to get my wedding ring out of her jewelry box so I could wear that one instead. But it wasn’t there. We checked several places where she kept jewelry to no avail. Things were now going from sad to disturbing.

After a couple of weeks we went to a jewelry store to order a new ring. I simply could not believe we wouldn’t come across the wedding ring eventually, so I matched the silver one. Sure enough, a few days after I picked up the new ring my wife came across a tin of jewelry with my wedding band in it, inexplicably left under the sink in the bathroom. 

Fast forward to a quiet and peaceful solstice morning, sitting around the tree opening a few simple gifts I had purchased for the three of us. Suddenly Joe jumps up with a start, turns around, reaches under the the loose upholstery of his chair and pulls out my engagement ring! He only noticed it when he pulled one leg up under him and felt it with his toe. Honestly, the only reason that place wouldn’t have been checked more closely is because my butt is always sitting in it. 

It was a memorable solstice gift.