DEO GRATIAS: FOUND!
A big thank-you to Saint Anthony, the guardian angels of the house, my dear husband, and everyone who prayed for the safe recovery of my engagement ring (and the other ring I lost!) I just found them-- and in one of the first places I should have looked: the air return duct in our family room. Hambet, the little magpie, loves to see what he can fit into that register cover. I've recovered bank cards and all kinds of other things from that duct.
I had actually lost two rings -- an engagement ring and another ring I keep in the same place -- but the engagement ring was the one that really had my stomach in knots. Yesterday I was tearing my house apart looking for the rings: moving the refrigerator, completely taking apart the dresser, emptying drawers, turning out pockets, the bit. I even sifted through all the trash, including the trash that we'd already taken outside. On his way out the door this morning, my husband remembered the register cover and suggested that I check it today. Before I did, I wanted to check at Home Depot to see if I could get a replacement register cover (it looks awful, so as long as I was taking it off, I might as well replace it.) They didn't have one in the right size, so I just came home, unscrewed one side of the cover, and peeked in. And there they were!
I am so grateful to my husband for being so calm and understanding about this. Not a word of rebuke; only forgiveness and optimism.
Notes to self: 1) Keep an eye on the jewelry, and keep it out of reach! 2) Next time something small is missing, check the register cover before looking anyplace else.
Davey's mommy and daddy, take note!
