the inscription:

"Que Bella Amor"

What Beautiful Love












I couldn't agree more.

a false engagement...thankfully.

Last night my boyfriend and I took the dogs for a long walk. As we strolled the streets of our city (that we both love) we commented on housing designs - aspects we adored and the parts we didn't like as much. We stopped at each house for sale to puruse a flyer from the box to review the pertinent details for that property. We chatted about prices and amenities, what was reasonable and what we wouldn't want to live without. This is a fun game we often play, where we dream about a future that neither of us knew was possible until a couple months ago. And in truth, this is one of my favorite things to do with him. It's probably the thing I have waited to be able to do with someone my whole life.

As the sun began to set and we turned to walk towards home, he looked at me excited, as though he just remembered something he was looking forward to and said, "I have something for you!"

Now it's important to mention that he is a jeweler, and more importantly, a very talented artist. So, I asked, "Did you make it?" To which, he said yes.

After returning home we climbed in the car to go to the grocery store and he asked me to hold out my hands. Since I love surprises, I also decided to close my eyes while extending my palms, into which he placed a small item. I opened my eyes to see a ring. It was a silver, wide banded ring with detailed markings hammered into the metal. It was simple, and so very 'me'...and I loved it the minute I saw it.

I tried to put it on every finger, but the only one it fit was my wedding finger. This was an accident, he had intended for it to fit my right hand. He said he would size it to fit any finger I wanted and that he was glad he had not inscribed it like he had wanted to before having me make sure it fit. I am yet to find out what will be inscribed.

But then the best thing happened when he explained its significance. You see, the ring is half of the first ring that he ever made. He had made a VERY wide banded male ring for himself when he first made an attempt at jewelry. He had taken that very ring, cut the band in half, and formed mine. The other half still fits him. We decided to wear the ring on the same finger (ON THE RIGHT HAND!!) Then he told me that he had never given a girl a ring of any sort. He had given necklaces, of this I am sure, but never a ring. Giving a ring to a girl was special for him, and it was immensely special to me.

This ones for da boys!

I am not an animal lover by nature. I'm just not. Once when I was little, probably around 5 years old, we got a puppy. I have no clue what kind, because I am not a dog person and do not know the breeds, but it was a moppy looking gal with dark black hair. I named her Crystal. And in a very short amount of time (I think around a couple of weeks) my mother grew weary of the wiry mutt and gave her to another family. This sealed the deal in our household that, "We are not dog people. We just aren't." And this would be the mantra that my mother would instill in me by repeating it often....including once last week on the phone.

But the irony in life, that is always so prevalent, has come back around. My boy has not one dog, but two. And in fact his parents have not just one dog, but two. I find myself fairly often surrounded by giddy, overanxious pups. Before meeting my boyfriend's endearing pets, I made sure to clearly explain that I was not a 'dog person', even though fairly often dogs seem to gravitate towards me. I asked him, "What will you do if your dogs don't like me?"

"They will."

"But what if they don't?"

"I'm not worried about it, they will."

And as seems to be the case in a number of situations, he was right. Both dogs, one an older staunchy fellow that we refer to as the republican and the other a wild energectic whippersnapper of a pup who sways towards the homo side, both adore me. Surprisingly, the older one (who prefers to be left alone and avoids cuddling) seems to like me best of all. He often joins me to pat at me with his paw requesting I scratch his head and rub his back just a little longer. The boyfriend even says that this is unusual of him due to his lack of people preference, but somehow I have won him over.

Now most my days start with all 3 boys heading outside for the am restroom break. After they return the two pups immediately join me in bed to lick my face, and for some last minute cuddle time, while my boyfriend heads to the bathroom to get ready for the day. And as they lick my face from top to bottom (an activity I really don't enjoy), I feel very loved by all my boys.

my boyfriend is great...and this is why...

Early on in our relationship my boyfriend showed me that he loved me. I never doubted that his feelings from the beginning were strong...and he continues to prove it to me in all that he says and does. However, sometimes when it comes to saying the right thing...his is somewhat of a dichotomy.

You see he learned how to master the art of picking up girls in any situation, early on in college; and seems to have honed the skill. He's good at dropping one liners as though they are just typical conversation. For instance, this morning I suggested we buy plane tickets for his birthday coming up in a number of months, and then followed up with "...unless of course you have plans to break up with me before then..." (said with a smile). His immediate response? "I don't plan on ever breaking up with you in this lifetime."

Since I know this is a skill that he worked on over the years, at times I get nervous that maybe everything he says is just another smooth line that he knows any girl would want to hear. But then again, he isn't always that slick when trying to convey something he is really thinking or feeling, this category is a tough one for him. It's my impression that he has the words in his head, but struggles to get them to come out as eloquently from his mouth.

When we had been dating for roughly two weeks he said, "The thing is...you are the missing piece." I responded to this with a questioning look. "No, what I mean is you were the piece I needed. Like I had this God-shaped hole for a long time, and then I started praying, found a relationship with God...and now it's filled. Well similarly, I had a you-shaped hole...that only YOU could fill, like that poem."

I raise my eyebrows, "What poem?"

"You know the one we read when we were kids, by Shel Silverstein. It's all about this missing piece and rolling around looking for it. Nothing else fits, until the right piece does and that is you."

I smiled to myself at the way he went about trying to make me understand. I actually never read the poem, not even after that conversation...until today.

The Missing Piece by Shel Silverstein

It was missing a piece. And it was not happy.
So it set off in search of its missing piece.


And as it rolled, it sang this song
"Oh I'm lookin' for my missin' piece
I'm lookin' for my missin' piece
Hi-dee-ho, here I go, Lookin' for my missin' piece"


Sometimes it baked in the sun
but then the cool rain would come down.


And somethimes it was frozen by the snow

but then the sun would come and warm it again.


And because it was missing a piece it could not roll very fast

so it would stop to talk to a worm
or smell a flower

and sometimes it would pass a beetle
and sometimes the beetle would pass it
and this was the best time of all.


And on it went, over oceans
"Oh I'm lookin' for my missin' piece
Over land and over seas
So grease my knees and fleece my bees.
I'm lookin' for my missin' piece."

through swamps and jungles
up mountains
and down mountains

Until one day, lo and behold!
"I've found my missin' piece
I've found my missin' piece
So grease my knees and fleece my bees
I've found my..."


"Wait a minute" said the piece.
"Before you go greasing your knees and fleecing your bees..."
"I am not your missing piece. I am nobody's piece.
I am my own piece. And even if I was somebody's missing piece I don't think I'd be yours!"


"Oh" it said sadly "I'm sorry to have bothered you"

And on it rolled.
It found another piece
but this one was too small.
And this one was too big.
This one was a little too sharp.
And this one was too square.


One time it seemed to have found the perfect piece
but it didn't hold it tightly enough and lost it.
Another time it held too tightly
and it broke.


So on and on it rolled,
having adventures
falling into holes
and bumping into stone walls.


And then one day it came upon another piece that seemed to be just right.

"Hi" it said.

"Hi" said the piece.

"Are you anybody else's missing piece?"

"Not that I know of"

"Well, maybe you want to be your own piece?"

"I can be someone's and still be my own."

"Maybe I do."

"Maybe we won't fit.."

"Well..." "Hummmm?" "Ummmmm!"


It fit! It fit perfectly! At last! At last!
And away it rolled

and because it was now complete,
it rolled faster and faster,
Faster than it had ever rolled before!

So fast that it could not stop to talk to a worm
or smell a flower
too fast for a butterfly to land.
But it could sing its happy song,
at last it could sing

"I've found my missing piece"
And it began to sing

"I've frown my nizzin'geez
Uf vround my mitzin'brees
So krease ny meas An bleez ny dregs Uf frown..."

Oh my, now that it was complete it could not sing at all
"Aha" it thought. "So that's how it is!"

So it stopped rolling....
and it set the piece down gently,
and slowly rolled away

and as it rolled it softly sang
"Oh I'm lookin' for my missin' piece
I'm lookin' for my missin' piece
Hi-dee-ho,here I go,
Lookin' for my missin' piece."

Of course IMMEDIATELY after reading this I texted my boyfriend to say, "So I just read the missing piece poem by silverstein and it doesn't end so well. Did you realize that?"

He responds, "No,it's been awhile. I just remember the good part. How does it end?"

"Well the missing piece makes him roll too fast and miss out on stuff...and he can't sing anymore...so he sets the piece down and rolls away. Kind sad actually."

So he says, "That is sad. Funny how we only remember what we want to. What I know though is that I just love you so much!"

and as always...he had me at the missing piece.