This bites ... but it's okay.
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| Sat, 06-13-2009 - 4:50pm |
DH and I took the kids out on the boat. It was the first time this year and I'll tell you, there's no better way to keep them all occupied for hours on end for less than $10! LOL. Anyway, a thunderstorm blew up on us and we were flying to get back to the dock. It's a little hole-in-the-wall boat ramp and there was lightning in the sky, not over us but close enough to get the heck out of the water. We went into the dock faster than usual, and because of the way the dock is built you have to physically stop or "catch" the boat because there are no bumpers to keep it from tearing a hole in the fiberglass. We JUST remodeled the entire thing and DH painted it. It looks brand new. I was thinking, secondary to the lightning issue, that I was NOT going to let it hit the dock.
Combine my rusting "catching" skills with the hurry we were in because of the storm (which really just blew up out of nowhere), and you've got an unpleasant situation. Even though I was careful, I ended up with my wrist bent back in a way it won't bend and actually sat there thinking my arm was going to break. I went past the "oh, crap" phase to the acceptance phase in the time it took for the boat to give instead of my arm, and it finally changed paths enough to not snap my arm in half. I ended up with a nasty scrape and bruise on the underside of my forearm and a couple of cuts under my wedding rings (band, engagement solitaire, and diamond wrap). We were in too much of a hurry for me to examine it much. My arm still seemed to work so we got the kids in the truck and loaded the boat. It was dark by then.
When we got home (10 mins) I started easing my rings around my finger to see how bad the cuts were and that's when I noticed my solitaire was gone. GONE. The prongs were there and in place, but the diamond was gone.
This broke my heart, but not because it was valuable. To the contrary, it didn't cost much but it took months to save for 13 years ago. DH talked once about getting a bigger one but I never wanted a bigger one. If we stopped flaking for a couple of months I could have a nice one - heck, we've come up with $4,000 over the past 6 weeks as it is! But I don't have anyone to impress, and nothing would mean as much as what he worked so hard to give me when we literally had nothing. And now it's gone.
I've only taken my wedding band off once in my life, and that was after the ceremony to put it behind my engagement ring. I took the engagement ring off once to have it sized with the wrap. Otherwise, in nearly 12 years of marriage they've stayed put. We're both so particular about what those rings stand for and it really means so much to have them on. DH won't even take his off.
Anyway, I'm just wearing the band. I didn't want to damage the prongs on the engagement ring, and the wrap looks funny without it, LOL. They're tucked away in a drawer for when DH can have a diamond put back in, and he's under orders to stick to the same size I had before, however modest. I know we could put it on a credit card, but on the other hand, we couldn't. That wouldn't show much of a commitment to live debt free, would it? =c)
In the meantime, I'm going to shell out a whopping $30 for a CZ ring and have fun with it. In the end, it won't matter. The missing diamond was important b/c he showed me how incredibly hard he was willing to work for me, but you know what? So is that empty setting. He didn't go into debt for it then and we're not going to do it now, either.
Now if I could just stop panicking every time I see those diamonds missing from my finger...
Sarah
sahm, wahm, homeschooling mom to

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Oh, I am SO sorry to hear about it. But you seem to have a remarkably philosophical way to look at this whole thing. I guess at the end, you have your DH, the diamond is just things. (I know, it is easy for me to say).
I hope the rest of the weekend gets better.
Thanks. =c) I'm hopped up on pain meds trying to ignore this throbbing arm and I start to grumble, but then it occurs to me that I could be wearing a cast and that ends that complaint, LOL. I write (w/ a keyboard) for income and luckily it doesn't hurt any worse to type than it does to not type, but still ... argh! And a cast would really kill boating season!
Thank you for your support. =c)
Sarah
sahm, wahm, homeschooling mom to
I'm so sorry to hear you lost your diamond!
Becky
CL of 4th, 5th & 6th grade Scoliosis
Sarah
sahm, wahm, homeschooling mom to
Mary Jo
That's a great idea about the homeowners insurance (geez, why didn't I think of that?) but our deductible is higher than the value of the diamond. (I looked up a replacement stone of the same size). And my hands were never over the boat after it happened. My arm, hand, and wrist were caught over the water between the bow of the boat and the dock, and from there I climbed over onto the dock without letting go of it. We checked the truck out really well in case it was loose and didn't fall out until the ride, but unfortunately I went from the dock, through the shallow water of the boat ramp, and right into the truck. After the 3-5" of rain we've had since it happened, I wouldn't expect it to still be on the wood if it ever sat there. The slats were all spaced apart with plenty of room for it to fall through. =c(
I'm so glad you mentioned the homeowners insurance, though. I really didn't think of that. Maybe it'll save me some money next time something like this happens! (((Thanks)))!
Sarah
sahm, wahm, homeschooling mom to
Call your homeowners tomorrow sometimes things like that are covered under your homeowners policy.
At least you will lose anything asking. Oh when you got married a lot of times there is a photo of the your and your husbands they take for the first of your album I sure hope you have that picture.
Our house was broken into years ago and they took my first set because I could not wear them at the time and that picture was my proof of the size of my diamond.
Mary Ann
Definately call your homeowners. My mom lost her diamond a few years back and they replaced it. They actually mailed her a new one through the regular mail!
Good Luck!
Mary Ann and supersamey,
Thanks for the idea on the homeowners insurance, guys, because I hadn't thought of it until someone mentioned it to me. But our deductible is higher than the value of the diamond. We cranked it up as high as we could to save on premiums, and I've already checked on the price of a loose diamond in the same size I had. We could replace it for the price of the deductible and not have to worry about the rates going up.
All of our valuables are photographed, cataloged, and backed up, so proving it wouldn't be a problem. In this case, however, the value was in my heart, not on my finger. =c)
Sarah
sahm, wahm, homeschooling mom to
Sarah,
I had the same thing happen (although without injury, you poor thing!) years ago and know how you feel about losing that diamond.
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