Recently I attended a 90th birthday party for a retired doctor who remains in wonderful shape. The party was festive and the stories were flowing. One of his sons took the microphone and told the story of the lion ring. I have to share it. “You see when you grow up Catholic and Italian”, began Tommy “your First Communion day is huge”. When one of the 7 children would make his or her First Holy Communion, the parents would visit the local jewelry store and buy a cross necklace for the girls and a medal and chain for the boys. When Tommy was 5, he tagged with his parents to select the perfect medal for his older brother Frankie Jr. The young boys heart stopped when he saw a lion ring in the jewelry case. He begged his parents to buy it. He had to have it. It was the coolest thing he had ever seen! His life would be complete if he had that lion ring!! The parents gently but firmly said NO; after all, this day was about Frankie Jr. and his First Holy Communion medal.  Tommy was crushed. He thought his world had ended;  he eventually forgot about the ring–until his 18th birthday when his dad handed him a wrapped box and inside was the lion ring. “Little did I know my parents had returned to the jewelry store the very next day to buy it for me,” said Tommy. “The thought that they saved it all those years still makes me made me feel so special.” Tommy joked that he is the type of guy that never wears jewelry. He rarely wears the ring but he cherishes what it represents. Tommy joked to his parents in the crowd “I should have asked the return policy of the store. Was it 30 days or 13 years?”

Tags : 90th birthday, Faith, Family, Lion ring