The Hartshorne Family Crest Ring
My father has always worn this ring. It’s a gold version of the Hartshorne family crest, and it was made for all of dad’s brothers and for him when he was in high school.
My dad rarely, if ever, took this ring off. Once he lost the ring, and it took until the snow all melted to find again, and after that he never wanted to remove it.
But when I was visiting him last month, he took it off and looked me in the eye. “Will you wear this?” he asked. “Yes,” I said, “I promise.”
So I dropped the ring off at Silverscape Designs to be resized to fit my pinky finger. I like it.
I haven’t ever been much of jewelry wearer, but this is different.
March 20, 2018 @ 11:20 am
That’s a wonderful connection to hold onto. I have one sentimental thing I’ve held onto from my dad. When he and mom were in their forties they got into bowling. When Dad got engaged in anything, he was “all-in” and became a pro at what he did. Ultimately he (being a machinist) worked in a pro shop and custom-drilled bowling balls for the people who needed them. I probably joined a league when I was in my early 20’s, and I only bowled for about a year. But Dad presented me with a red bowling ball custom made for my hand. All these years since, we’ve moved that ball from one house to another. I may have bowled once or twice since then. Occasionally my kids will borrow it to go out for a night of bowling, but it’s rarely used. And yet, I can’t bear to part with it because it’s something he made especially for me.