Buried In the Sand - 15 yr old boy loses prized possession
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As moms, we are problem solvers. We are care givers, protectors, and in some instances, flat out heros. This is the story of one of those instances. On a family vacation in Hermosa Beach, CA my 15 yr old son lost a ring that he wore on a chain as a necklace. The clasp had suddenly come apart and the ring fell right into the sand. Have you ever tried to find something small and gold in yellowish sand? It’s IMPOSSIBLE. The more you dig, the more buried the item becomes. It’s very comparable to finding a needle in a haystack.
This ring was not an ordinary ring. It was my son’s ONE RING. As in, The One Ring from “Lord of the Rings”. I had purchased it for him as a Christmas gift 6 months prior. He is a huge fan of the series and was very pleased to receive the gift and very proud to wear it. So you can imagine how upset he was when it disappeared and fell into the bottomless pit of sand. Forget going to the water to swim. The ring was gone. Our vacation was over. The world had come to an end.
I pleaded with him that I would buy him a new one. I explained that it was not that expensive and it could be replaced. No. It was THE ONE. You cannot just simply replace THE ONE. He was so upset and distraught that I had to figure something out. Naturally, I did what any other desperate, smart and creative mom would have done. I called a metal detector service. “Joe” was willing to come immediately and search for The Ring for a small fee. Mind you, the fee was more than twice I paid for the ring itself. Yet, sentimental value had surpassed monetary value at this point and so as not to ruin the vacation for the other 5 of us, I felt it was a good investment.
We waited with bated breath and I prayed silently as Joe waved the metal detector back and forth across the sand. 10 minutes went by. Nothing. The metal detector started beeping and making alien sounds. “Bottle cap”, Joe predicted, and sure enough, it was a bottle cap. (Joe really knew his metal sounds.) 20 minutes later, we were giving up hope, and very sweaty. Joe said “let’s give it a few more tries”. He wandered away about 10 feet or so and the metal detector started whistling and beeping! We held our breath. He dug down about 2 inches and there it was. THE ONE. We were blinded by its golden rays glistening in the sun. The clouds opened, we heard the Hallelujah chorus and white doves appeared out of nowhere and flew up into the sky from the sand at our feet. Nah… just kidding. But that is what it felt like! Boom. Vacation saved. Another mom hero moment for the books.
On a side note, if you ever lose a needle in a haystack maybe our friend Joe would be available to come find it.
It’s been 6 years since then and my son has not gone a day without wearing The Ring necklace. (New chain of course.) I love this story. I love reminiscing about it. I’m sure every family has some pretty interesting stories of their own. What type of stories do you have? Did you know that Heirloom Vault provides the perfect way to tell your unique stories of your own family heirlooms? And, getting started is free. Your free vault is your blank canvas, waiting to be painted with stories to share with your family and future generations. Get started today!
