I normally don’t wear accessories. Necklaces, earrings, and grills just aren’t my thing. Shoot, I don’t wear hats all that much either. But when Sidney and I married in June a piece of jewelry was automatically added to my daily dress.

For over three months I have proudly worn a wedding ring. Until we said “I do” I had never worn a ring for longer than a day in my life. To go from never wearing something to wearing something almost 24/7 is an adjustment. However, that transition period was much shorter than what I thought it would be.

Although a little strange at first, it really was just a matter of days before I got used to the shiny ring Sidney bought me. By the end of the first week it truly felt like a piece of me. Today marks the 102nd day I have worn my ring but because the ring feels so familiar it kind of feels like the 10,200th day I have worn it.

I have now worn my ring for over 100 days and it feels completely natural.

However, just because the ring feels comfortable and natural doesn’t mean I haven’t established some habits with it. For starters, I take it off two times each day: when I work out and when I shower. Having the ring get caught on a weight or a machine is not comfortable. Also, perspiration causes my ring to slip off my finger. Thus, you can probably guess why I take it off when I shower. Water seems to encourage my ring to slide right off so I always remove it before exercising or bathing.

With the exception for those two instances, I keep my ring on. I eat my meals with it on. I sleep with it on. I do all my work with it on. Sidney and I do ring checks on each other quite often and I think I am 100% for having it on when she performs her inspection.

Fr. James LeBlanc, pastor of St. Andrew Parish in Myrtle Beach, looks on as we sign our marriage certificate. I had worn my ring for about 30 minutes up until this point. (photo courtesy of Nicholas Gore Weddings Photography).

One thing I do find myself doing is tugging at my ring when I am thinking or watching TV. Using the thumb and middle finger of my right hand I will pull it up about halfway on my ring finger and then drop it back down into its proper spot. I can do this over and over at a frequent pace.

But besides my habits of taking my ring off, wearing it, and tugging at it, there is one thing that causes me to think about my marriage symbol a lot. Unfortunately, that “thing” is the fear of losing it. Always in the back of my mind I fight off the possibility of misplacing my ring. Even when I take it off to shower I will step out and dry off only to freak out for a split second because I forgot that I purposely removed it. I continually question myself about how I am going to make it through the rest of my life without ever losing it. The normalness of wearing the ring set in quickly, the paranoia of losing it did not. I hope as time goes on my fear will subside.

I love wearing my ring. I love how it looks. I even love showing it off! Most of all, I love that an amazing woman bought it for me to symbolize something very special. Don’t Blink.