When Ryan & I began talking about getting married, his mother gave him a little box from his beloved Oma. Inside held together by a bread bag twist tie were four rings-2 steel, weathered bands & 2 beautiful rose gold bands. A small note attached, written in his Oma's hand, read "For Ryan." The story of the rings leads us back to Germany during World War II, where Ryan's grandparents were experiencing invasion from the Russians. Alfred was sent to a work camp & Erna was left to take care of the farm, neither knew if they would see their beloved again. Alfred was left for dead in a snowbank when the tree he was chopping down fell on him. Miraculously he was simply knocked into the snow and after the Russians moved on, he escaped. He found Erna and they moved to Mankato. Here they worked for little pay to save up for the house, we began our family together in. The rings they were wed in were the steel bands. Precious metals had all been given to the war effort. The rose gold rings, engraved with one another's initials, represent post-war life and the struggles they endured together and the hope they found. The bands glow with the love they shared and that now we share. Happy Anniversary, Ryan Idso-Weisz!
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