Wedding rings

One of the differences between men and women: a woman notices and remembers if someone is wearing a wedding band, an engagement ring, the tan mark of a ring that was once there. A man, unless he is Sherlock Holmes or another fictional detective, won’t have a clue. As part of our biological predisposition to map out relationship networks, we like to ‘figure people out’, to create a narrative for strangers, acquaintances, friends.

I find the statement that rings on the left fourth-finger make quite intriguing. How many meanings can they have.. ‘I am taken’; ‘You are mine’; ‘I made a promise’; ‘Please, don’t get anywhere near me/my beloved’; ‘I need a reminder of my marital status’; ‘You and I wear the same ring – we are on the same team’; ‘You singles suck’; ‘I am a tough guy, but this is my soft spot’; ‘I love bling’; ‘I am in love’; ‘I like to look at my hand and think of you; ‘I am throwing it out of the window – that’s what I think of our marriage’; ‘Please, take it back, I don’t love you anymore’; ‘Your divorced, dead mother’s engagement ring? I don’t think so’; ‘This is not what you were supposed to buy!! Go out and start looking again’; ‘Wow, you shouldn’t have to, it is huge (yes, you should have, all my friends will be green with envy)’; 'Geez, I am married, will it ever sink in?'; 'I like being married; marriage suits me.. for the fourth time'; 'I am unconventional and will wear what I fancy'; and so on...      

And yet, there is nothing as private and unique as a relationship between two people who are or have been in love. And that’s why rings startle me every single time: they are a public expression of a personal status. But then, what do I know?