Summer of Excess - Accomplishments and Blessings

Yesterday my oldest son finished high school. I'm very proud of him. He's the artist type, the creative, esoteric type that sees little use in a formal education. School was a struggle, not because he couldn't do it. He's among the smartest in his class. It was a struggle because for a perceptive, visionary young man the traditional education system offered him nothing of value.

I believe he's graduating to prove to everyone that he didn't really need anything they taught within the walls of his high school. His diploma will be an anti-accomplishment and his future accomplishments a way to thumb his nose at the establishment. And that's okay, in the long run, those are the people, the mavericks, who grow up to change the world. They are full of big ideas that don't fit into the mold of single-minded society. All I can say is, "That's my boy!"

As we watched the coverage of the end of the democratic primary, I told him, "You have two things to remember this day by. It's the day you finished high school and the day your candidate (and mine) won the nomination for president." They are both historic events.

Another event I'd like to mark is the wedding of Jimmy Nettles and Tina Thompson. I was honored to stand at Tina's side as they pledged their love to one another. The love emanating from the two of them was almost overwhelming, so much so that I stopped looking at Jimmy's face after I felt tears welling up to match his emotion.

The bride and groom sang "Only God Could Love You More" to each other and I don't think there was a dry eye in the house. Congratulations to Tina and Jimmy. I believe they will share many happy years together, learning and growing, nurturing and loving each other. Not to mention they will have tons of fun because they enjoy each other so much. What more could they ask for?

I know the winding path Tina's walked to find this love. Nothing is by chance. Each step, though some were painful, were laid out by God. This was a joyous stepping stone, one that I hope leads to many, many more like it.

Day of Love - I Have to Say It

I have to say it - I am married to an incredible man and he is perfect - at least, for me. LifePrints is almost a year old and because of its focus I don't talk very much about my family, unless I can tie it into my theme.

What better theme than the universal day of love to tell to you about my husband, Todd? It's perfect.

"I fell in love with you in kindergarten," he told me one day.

"What do you mean? I didn't know you back then," was my bewildered response. We'd been dating for a while and were sharing dessert in one of those fancy fondue restaurants.

"Yeah. One day when I was about 5, my friend told me he had a girlfriend with pretty blond hair and the brightest blue eyes he'd ever seen and her name was Lisa D. I feel in love with the idea of you and never forgot your name. So when I saw you for real in the 7th grade it was like you walked right out of my dreams."

I rested my head on his shoulder and swallowed the lump in my throat. So much had happened between junior high and this day in the restaurant - a winding path of close friendship, other loves, lives, and families. And some how, so many years later, we still ended up here, fulfilling a little boy's fantasy or was it his destiny?

That was a little over 5 years ago and on Valentine's Day I am reminded again that we are meant to live as one. A necklace fell out of my card this morning, a hematite donut with a moon charm suspended in the middle. He made it for me last night after holding onto the stone since last spring. He'd bought it in a little rock store in the New Mexico mountains.

On Christmas Eve I made a lapis donut necklace, wire wrapped with an identical moon charm and hid the little box under the tree. I'd carried the stone in my wallet since the day I bought it last spring in a little rock store in the New Mexico mountains.

I didn't know. He didn't know...and yet perfection.

New York Wedding Ring - Do It Yourself Love

I'll never forget walking into my friend's jewelry shop and asking him to make a special wedding ring for my soon to be husband. John and I had known each other since elementary school. His father was the only jeweler who designed and made the custom pieces. He was sort of famous in my little home town. Now I stood in John's shop looking at original designs and molds inherited from his father. We settled on a premade band that he would alter to match my engagement ring. The process was exhilarating. I felt involved in the creative process. I wanted Todd to have something special.

He did the same for me. He spent most of a day with a prestigious Atlanta jeweler staring at stones under a microscope. It had to be the right one in the perfect setting. He'd waited until his mid-thirties to buy an engagement ring...big step! It deserved intense contemplation. I deserved his full attention to detail.

I'm sharing these memories because this morning I discovered a way to take that exhilaration one step further. Metallurgist and jeweler, Sam Abbay at New York Wedding Ring, teaches couples how to make their own wedding and commitment rings from raw materials. The couples design and create their rings from start to finish. With Sam's guidance they hammer and love their rings into being. I can't think of anything more romantic.

In today's fast paced society we are so disconnected from everything - our loved ones by distance, our food delivered in serving sized packaging, love found on a website that tests compatibility for us, and wedding packages premade to order at the most popular resorts. We don't feel or process our lives nearly enough.

What could be more visceral than touching raw metal, heating it to it's melting point and shaping it into a gift that will be worn for a lifetime, a symbol of all you hold in your heart of this special person? Perfect or slightly blemished from inexperience, the rings essence is truly in your hands. I wish I could recapture this moment in my life. I do it again this way.

It's not cheap and it does take time and effort. There are only two locations to have this experience (New York and San Francisco) with Sam. Those are the drawbacks. The upside is the offer of cultured diamonds and gold alternatives that are just as beautiful and more durable. The ultimate upside is giving from your heart a handmade, tangible symbol of love.

I'm gushing, apparently I need a boost today...and concentrating on the expression of commitment and love is a good way to accomplish it. Browse the New York Wedding Ring website for gorgeous photos of handcrafted rings, happy couples excited to start their lives together, and cool snapshots of the entire process.