Well, that didn't last long

My husband was a very loving, giving man and he frequently gave me gifts of jewelry.  For example, we were married in the month of June and our first 4th of July together he gave me ruby earrings. (That was one positive aspect to wheelchairs - a great number of jewelry display cases are  eye level from a wheelchair.)

But he has gone Home, so there aren't any more "just because" jewelry gifts.  I've been thinking about buying myself a gift - for my upcoming birthday or for Christmas.

My favorite color now that my hair is white is a lavender blue that closely resembles tanzanite stones.  Today while I was running errands I noticed a display of pretty tanzanite rings and earrings.  I was drawn to a tanzanite and diamond ring that was on sale but the sale ended today. 

The price was reasonable I thought and since it isn't long until my birthday and since the sale ended today... it seemed like a good idea to buy the ring. 

So I did.

I bought it, brought it home, tried it on and admired it with my favorite jacket in that color.  It looked great and I planned to wear both of them tomorrow.

Then I sat down to read the news which contained so much about the devastation in the Philippines.  The more I read, the more I felt compelled to donate to the LDS Humanitarian relief fund - a great way to give because 100% of what is donated is used for relief.  (All overhead costs are covered by the LDS church.)

I began to feel guilty about the ring - spending all that money for a piece of jewelry when there are people who have such tremendous needs.  The more I thought about it the more guilty I felt, almost as if I could hear my husband saying, "You know what you should do about this, don't you?"  So one hour after making the purchase I headed back to the store.  The same two clerks were still there and I said that the strangest thing had happened, that after buying the ring I had watched the news about all the tragedies in the Philippines and I couldn't justify my frivolous purchase and needed to return it so I could send money to help.  They were very nice about it but as the younger clerk handled the return, she asked me this question:

"So, what happened in the Philippines?" 

I couldn't believe it!  All that destruction and loss of life, the pop-up ads on TV, the internet and even on my little cell phone, and she wasn't even aware it had happened. Wow.

I won't be wearing a shiny new ring tomorrow but I do have a donation that is a much better way to celebrate my birthday and the example of a generous loving husband.