My Love.

I have had these three rings for quite some time. On these rings they read, Faith, Hope, and Love. I started wearing Hope first as I was in a place where I needed hope the most. As time passed I needed more Faith so I started wearing that ring too. After meeting Donji I realized how much Love was in my life and began wearing all three together. I wore them together for about a year. As deployment drew near I knew that I wanted to send Donji off with something special to me, that tied us together.

The night before he left I knew what I needed to do. I took off my Love ring and wrote a note to him. I wrapped the ring in the note and hit is in his ACU pocket behind his wallet knowing he would not see it until he got on the plane. The note talked about my love for him and how he will carry my love with him through whatever he is going through. The next time we talked he thanked me for the note and for giving him something that meant so much to me and that now it means so much to him. People asked about these rings throughout deployment and I told them that Donji had my love, that Faith would keep him safe and bring him home to me and that Hope was all that I had left.

9 months later these are on our kitchen table. My love was safely stored between his dog tags and close to his heart. He never took it off. My heart was so full to see my gesture be received on the exact level that it was meant to be. My love is home and my heart is full. I know that my love will always be his and that his will always be mine.

My reflection on this leads me to question what little gestures we miss every day from our loved ones. From them replacing the toilet paper with the roll going the "right way" or holding the door open for you or spending a little extra time talking about your day. Are we always aware of how our partner, friends and family are showing their love, or do we miss it all together?