My father was in the hospital last week and remarked to a nurse in answer to a question that he did not have his rings on because one was getting hard to keep on because of his thinning fingers and the other had worn thin. The one worn through is my mother’s class ring: East Alton-Woodriver High School, class of 1954, I believe. The other is his wedding band.

I have written here about the challenges of learning to let go of a loved one when they die. Nonetheless, however important that is, I was inspired to take these pictures when I came across these rings today. They are a beautiful image of the love that does not thin, nor should.