Sour Summer Turns Sweet
Wednesday, May 29, 2024
I was settling into a normal Wednesday evening routine of doing the dinner dishes, getting the kids ready for bed, and bedtime reading when a fellow detectorist from Madison texted me and asked if I was up for a hunt. An all too common tale…a young man lost his wedding band at the beach. The lost wedding band was just a seven minute drive away at a beach I routinely hunt, so I texted the owner, Ryan, to see if he still needed help.
Ryan, a high school math teacher from Florida, had finished up his school year and was visiting family in Lake Geneva, WI. Before going for a swim, he took off his ring and set it on his beach blanket. Regardless of how it ended up in the sand, his sweet su
mmer trip had suddenly soured. Inscribed into his wedding band is “with my whole heart, for my whole life.” Ryan and his wife perhaps needed to lean a bit more into that promise as this treasured memento of their wedding day was lost.
I met Ryan just as the sun was beginning to sink below the horizon. He showed me the spot where their blanket was laid down, near a lifeguard stand. I expanded the search area much wider than I thought necessary and started a grid search. One of Ryan’s nephews suggested I move closer to the area where their blanket has been. I didn’t want to miss the ring on my first pass, and explained that I would work my way toward the spot. It wasn’t long before I hit a strong signal and the ring was found.
Everyone was excited, and after some photos, the ring was back on Ryan’s finger.
It felt so good to see his smile and know I helped, a bit, turn this sour experience sweet again. And despite the challenges that life will bring, I hope Ryan will always lean into his marriage promise, “with my whole heart, for my whole life.” This is a good reminder for all of us.
