10 July 2007

Din D.D.

On her wedding day, my mom gave me a gold wedding band that had belonged to my great great grandmother. She told me she had wanted to give it to me for a while but now I was finally "old enough" to be responsible with it.

Apparently being 30 has some unknown privileges such as being trusted with family heirlooms...

The ring has an inscription that reads, "Din D.D." Apparently D.D. is David Davidson, my great great grandfather and today I learned after checking in with some nordic colleagues that "din" means "Yours" as in "Always Yours." How sweet and lovely is that?

But right off, the ring presented a few problems.
  1. It's gold and I wear silver.
  2. It's a BIG ring. It was my great great Norwegian grandmother's wedding ring and while it may have fit her ring finger it fits my middle one and could actually be worn on my pointer finger.
  3. It LOOKS like a wedding band and as a single swinging gal in London town, even if worn on my middle finger, could prove to be a bit confusing.
Yet, even with all my superficial reasons firmly in place, I have to say that I love the ring. I put it on that day and have worn it everyday since (you can kind of see it on my hand in the What I Learned This Weekend post below).

I love that even though I have no idea what my great great grandmother looked like, I know what size her ring finger was; I love that I know that she wore this important gold ring for most of her life on her right hand; and I love that I know that she was loved by David Davidson. It doesn't tell me everything but it tells me more than I knew before. It's a time capsule for my family worn right on my hand and I intend to keep it there until it's replaced by a "din" of my own.

*sigh*

Doesn't that sound sweet and romantic?

Let's be honest, with my track record means it's just me and G.G.Grandma's din forever. But then again I am leaving London and it's crappy dating scene forever in just a few short weeks so things could be looking up. Seriously click on the dating link. It's so worth it.

Din, ReckenRoll

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Uh, but you're leaving London for Seattle. If you're into unshaven, greasy boys who lounge around coffee shops, complain about the government full-time, and don't actually do anything about it, you've hit a goldmine!

Kritkrat said...

Um, what's wrong with snogging nameless Aussie chefs in crowded bars? Am I not supposed to be doing that?

The [Cherry] Ride said...

I think you'll have a better track record in Seattle (despite what Prashant says). Besides, why would you want to be attached while in London?

Matt said...

great post!

5 of 9er said...

My sister just sent me one of my great-grandmother's wedding rings (she was married twice). I'll never be wearing it, but it's nice to have part of my family's history.

chuckdaddy2000 said...

My parents gave me a pocket watch that was my great granduncle's. As the story goes, he gave it to someone on a boat ride and asked them to give it to his family. And then he jumped off to his death.

My parents probably should've waited to give it to me when I was 30, since I have no idea where it is.

Unknown said...

i wear my grandmothers second wedding ring (grandpa bought her a nicer one when they had more money) as my engagement ring. it was officially my collaege graduation gift, at first i wore it on a chain with an umbrella pendant that my other grandma gave me, because i was nervouse it would fall of my finger.

my favorite thing about it, though, is that there's a picture of my grandma holding my dad when he was a baby and you can clearly see the ring on her finger and i love that sense of connection

ReckenRoll said...

Prashant, don't you know, I'm from ALASKA. Besides, being in Seattle increases the chances of seeing you laughing in the corner and falling off your barstool.

Kadonk - snog away sister. Getting someone's name first is so last year.

Cherry - Too right!

5o9er- You can give it to your daughter someday...but wait until she turns 30. She can't be trusted before then apparently.

Chuck - See my comment to 5er :-)

Carolyn - I totally agree on the connection!