Making in Through All the Odds

Tell us the story of a piece of jewelry you own. Where did it come from, and what does it mean to you?

I have a silver necklace that has a single pearl hanging from it. My husband bought it for me while he was stationed in Italy. After only dating for three months, my hubby moved to Italy for 18 months to fulfill his military obligation. When I started dating him I knew that he was going to move to Italy. It was inevitable. It’s the life of the military. We had only been dating a few months so at that point getting married wasn’t in the cards but we knew we still wanted to be together. So we decided to embark on a very long distance relationship for 18 months.

The first three months were the hardest for us. We were used to being with each constantly and then it was abruptly taken away from us. So you can only imagine what our phone bills looked like. I will admit it, it was kind of insane.

Within those three months, I was assigned elsewhere with the military and moved to another state. Before I reported to my next duty station, I headed to Italy to visit him. During my stay we flew to Paris. For as long as I can remember, it has always been my dream to visit Paris. Little did I know that he had something in store for me. While we were checking out the view of Paris on the Eiffel Tower, he turned to me and asked me to me his wife. He didn’t initially give me a ring but instead a beautiful silver necklace with a single pearl.

After six years of marriage, I still wear this necklace almost every day. This necklace means the world to me. From the beginning, nothing has been easy in our relationship. We spent the first year of our marriage in different countries but we still made it work. Today we face yet another challenge in our relationship. Infertility. It’s been such a tough battle for us but we made it through a long distance relationship and we will make it through infertility.