Okay, I lied, sort of. Sean outed me. When we began in the Navy 16 years ago Sean promised that if he ever deployed for real time he'd buy me a ring that said "Gam zeh ya'avor." Fast forward sixteen years, almost exactly. Sean was sworn in on October 31. He deployed on October 13. When we first found out about the pending deployment, Sean and I talked about the ring. Almost ten months later, as we were preparing for Sean's departure, lo and behold, Sean had forgotten to get the ring. Among all the changes, all the craziness, all the unknowns, the ring fell by the wayside. Not surprising really. This was the inspiration for the BOHICA inscription on the inside. Who knew it was prophetic.
Anyway, fed up with the changes, the craziness, and the unknowns that have continued throughout this deployment, I finally ordered the ring. I ordered it to wear on my right forefinger. That's this finger on which the groom places the ring in the Jewish ceremony. There's a myth that a vein runs from that finger straight to the heart. Nice. It's also the finger most easily seen by witnesses. I think it's an appropriate finger for this new ring.
Our wedding song was "You're My Home" by Billy Joel. It signifies the idea that as long as we have each other we are home. No matter what, gam zeh ya'avor. Throughout the moves (eight homes, plus interim residences, in six cities), financial ups and downs (I've lost count of how many times the Navy has screwed up our pay, and that's just this deployment), and family circus antics, as long as we have each other we know, gam zeh ya'avor.
