August 19, 2025
The day I GOT ENGAGED. Before I continue, just look at this for a second. Scroll back up to look at it again as many times as you want; gazing at my left hand has fast become one of my favorite pastimes. I knew my mom had given Josh my engagement ring when we were in St. Louis (without even making him ask for it!). It belonged to my godmother's mother, whom I knew, distantly when I was small, as Aunt Clara. She got married in 1925, so it's 100+ years old. My godmother was my grandma's cousin, so she was like another grandma to me. She herself never married but had seven godchildren, two of whom are my mom and I. I rescued it from a table of mementos and mostly costume jewelry that were up for grabs after her funeral; it’s been waiting for a potential Mr. Right I thought might never materialize ever since. I also knew he'd had The Talk with my dad. I wondered if he'd pop the question in Georgia : amid a bamboo forest, on a pier overlooking a lake, strolling throu...