Last night we were in a jewelry store looking for a wedding band for my husband who keeps inadvertently throwing his away. It has become too big for him and since it’s the weight of a behemoth, he keeps shaking it into the trash can.
While we were finding a nice tungsten band for him, my eye caught sight of the puzzle rings. “Oh,” I said, “That reminds of of when I was a kid. I had one with 12 wire-thin bands. I loved that thing, and it was easy to figure out.”
I began trying them on, and then he weighed the one I liked to see how much the silver would cost. He gave us a two-for-one offer, and I bought a new ring. That is really unlike me. Maybe it’s because during the pandemic I stopped wearing earrings, so I needed a little bling.
It was wired together with a fine wire, twisted on the outside. It would would have been worse than having a cat claw on my palm if I left it there. The shopkeeper kept trying to sand it down and make it smoother for me so I could keep it on. It just got more deadly. I thought it was a senseless suggestion to leave the wire on there. “It’s a puzzle ring! I want to see it in pieces.” Finally, after lots of convincing he helped me get the wire unfastened and removed. Now I had a puzzle in my hand. The shopkeeper was appalled. Of course, I had no idea how to put it back together, so on the way home I alternately tried to solve the puzzle while walking or wore one of the bands on my finger, while the others danced along with my arm swings.
When I got home, I realized this was beyond my memory and expertise. I had a vague recollection of me and 12-band puzzle being easy and making sense, whereas my cousin’s ring with fewer bands did not. I began watching videos and slowly step-by-step I got all the way to Step 2 before bed.
Today I woke up and went back to solving it, first thing. Even though I only had one hour before I had to be somewhere, I knew I wouldn’t rest until I got it. I made it to Step 3, but something was always wrong. So I didn’t quite get that third band down properly, but I realized I was on the way, I just knew it! I watched more videos. Pause. Work. Start video. Pause. Twist and turn. Start over because I lost Step 1 and Step 2. Watch the video again. Realize that on the video, the wide angle band goes first and on top, but consider that with my ring it is the opposite–the sharper angle goes first. Try. Fail. Switch back to the way the video told me because what do I know, anyway.
Then we had to drive to the U.S. Embassy to have our signatures notarized. I showed my husband proudly on the way down the elevator! Look Step 3, solid!
I was driving, so I had to wait. We got there early so I worked another 30 minutes because–God forbid that we would get to go inside the Embassy before our appointment. We had to stay in the car and wait. No luck with the ring in that 30 minutes, though.
I came home and said, “OK, this is it. I am getting to Step 4 now! I will get this done today, or I will still be sitting here when Jesus returns.” All other work, messages, and plans went on hold, and fortunately I forgot my phone in the car, so that couldn’t be a distraction.
Yes, ten minutes later I did it.
