During my first marriage, I often took the ring off for some hours to do work in the shop, though on occasion just for momentary comfort--it was a wide, masculine style, but my fingers are small for a man (spare me the jokes, please). Then one time, I only rememebered I had put it in the pocket of my pants some days later, and realized that those pants had been given away to Salvation Army. I had never really felt comfortable with that ring, certainly not physically and, in retrospect, perhaps not emotionally either, and I told myself it was just a symbol, so not the biggest deal in the world. Neither I nor my wife were in a rush to replace it. I got used to not wearing a ring. Long story short, we eventually divorced.
When I got married again a dozen or so years later--to the woman of my dreams--I swore to myself I would never take the ring off. We got me a sensibly sized ring, and it has never felt uncomfortable. And yes, it is "just" a symbol--a symbol that means a lot to me. Indeed, I have never taken it off. We're in our 14th year of marriage.
