Getting engaged is very exciting, there’s no doubt about that. Choosing to spend forever with the person you love is a big deal. But you know what else is a big deal? The ring.
I know, I know, getting engaged is about more than just the diamond (or whatever other gem makes you swoon). It’s about the commitment of yourself and your heart to another person for the rest of your lives. I totally get that (I promise I do!) but it’s also really exciting to have this beautiful, sparkling thing on your finger to look at all day long. I’d like to think I’ve become a professional at Ring Gazing. Wanna join me? Here’s how.
Take full advantage of elevator mirrors.
This was some of the best advice given to me after getting engaged. Seek out the elevators in your office building/buildings downtown/buildings that are 20 miles away and find one that has mirrors covering every surface. I am lucky enough to have one in my office building. When my co-workers can’t find me, I’m most likely riding it up and down, slowly moving my hand around so the light flashes from all sides and the ceiling. It’s almost like replicating Yayoi Kusama’s: Infinity Mirrors . . . almost.
Avoid holding your steering wheel at 12 o’clock for fear of losing focus on the road.
Driving is serious business and I don’t often get distracted while doing so, but I learned that keeping my left hand within eyesight was dangerous. One minute I’m watching the car in front of me, the next I’m staring at the bling on my hand…
Work on your reflexes and be ready to show off that ring!
Keep your hand at waist level and ready so when family and friends start to offer their best wishes you can whip your hand up to eye level before the word “congratulations” rolls off their tongue.
Snap a few photos of the gorgeous thing and keep them handy.
Whether you share the photos with the world aka Instagram or just peep at them on your Camera Roll- do it. These photos will fill you with happiness when you have to send your ring back to be resized. Trust me. It’s like looking at photos of your puppy sitting at home waiting for you, except you won’t get to see this puppy for a few days or weeks.
Learn how to do daily tasks with your left hand (if you’re left handed consider yourself blessed).
Hold drinks with your left hand, write with your left hand, shake hands with your left hand, anything and everything that you can do to draw attention to the ring is good! If it feels awkward, you’re doing it right.
But the number one tip to enhancing your Ring Gazing skillset is….
Wherever there’s a chapstick, there should be a ring cleaning kit.
You can’t gaze without the sparkles! You know you own a lot of chapstick ladies and don’t try to pass off as that woman who has only one. We are constantly on the go and the thought of not having a chapstick on your person is worse than being at Target and realizing your wallet with all forms of payment and your red card is sitting at home. So add a cleaning kit to your bedside table, your desk, your work purse (what’s one more thing?) and make sure that beauty sparkles 24/7.
In all seriousness, whether your fiancé sealed the deal with a piece of jewelry or the promise of forever, being engaged is such an exciting season of life. Enjoy every minute of it, even if it means stopping on the sidewalk to stare when the sunlight hits your ring just so.
