Devastating Discovery
She could feel tears cascading down her face as her pulse quickened, she was sprinting out of her house.
She couldn’t believe they were gone, so many memories made them irreplaceable to her. She needed to figure out where they were going. She was just hoping that it wasn’t too late.
Beach Time
Caitlin Adkins in Dublin Ohia just wanted a nice joyful family outing at the beach.
All she wanted to do was eat her healthy snacks while watching her little bundles of joy have fun. Maybe she was even getting a few pages of her book read. But something would happen before anything else.
Sun Protection
Little did she know that what seemed like an innocent action would have dire consequences.
She wanted her kids to be safe so she slathered a lot of sunscreen on them. They didn’t like it but that didn’t matter. She wanted her health to be first and foremost.
Getting Clean
Little did she know that the sunscreen would pick up a lot of sand and make it a gluey mess on her hands.
While her kids were making sandcastles she decided to quickly run to wash off the sand on her hands. To do so she took all of her rings off and deposited them in her, she would learn to regret this decision.
Not Good Enough
Upon returning her daughter had already made a huge sandcastle decorated with shells.
But her daughter looked at her with a frown “It’s not pretty enough. The princess won’t like it.” Caitlin Asked if her daughter would like to add some flowers to make it look nicer.
Kids Will Be Kids
So far the day was shaping up to be a really good one.
Her daughter was having fun taking the sandcastle down when it came time to head home. She gleefully stomped on the sand but Caitlin wouldn’t realize her downfall until it was too late.
Terrifying Realization
She always kept both her wedding and engagement rings on her fingers. They were almost a part of her at this point.
]So once she got home and realized that they were no longer on her she felt her stomach twist into a knot. Her rings weren’t in her pocket anymore, where could they be?
Not Just Rings
Married people understand the pain of finding out that they’ve lost a wedding ring. The very symbol of their love.
Caitlin pulled out her pockets. When nothing fell out, she turned out her purse. She swore she had them on her the entire time. But, it wasn’t just the symbolism that was dear to her. There were two other priceless things attached to those rings.
Back To The Beach
Her jewelry was worth a staggering 10k dollars! She was going to give her engagement ring to her daughter when she got married, then she had a realization.
She remembered that her daughter was using shiny objects to decorate the sandcastle. Could it be that those were her rings? She rushed to her daughter to ask her the important question.
Looking Everywhere
Caitlin piled her kids back into the car and raced back to the beach.
If she got there, maybe they would still be there. She would dig up the entire shore if she had to! She even ran to the lost and found at the information hut to see if anyone had found them. Her final answer was waiting for her, and it was unbelievable.
Not Her Daughter
Her little girl had nothing to do with the loss.
It turned out, they had fallen out of her pocket while she was washing her hands in the bathroom. They had tumbled on the floor. Someone had found them and left information for her to get them back. But the good samaritan would end up making her heart melt.
Another’s Daughter
Caitlin waited in the parking lot for her savior.
A little girl, no older than her daughter jumped out of an SUV and raced to her, holding out the rings with a huge, toothy grin. This child had found her precious rings … and knew immediately what she wanted to do with them.
Stunned, But In A Good Way
The girl’s father strolled over with the same bright smile and a glow of pride.
Caitlin listened with amazement how he explained the girl never thought, even for a moment, of keeping them. Her immediate reaction was to find the owners because they looked “special and important and pretty.” But that wasn’t all.
Integrity And Character
The little girl’s mom wasn’t there, but she had brought her words with her.
“It’s what we do when people aren’t watching is what makes our integrity and character.” The little thing knew immediately she wanted to do the right thing. Tears welled up in Caitlin’s eyes as she threw her arms around the little girl. She also had a special gift ready for the amazing tot.
A New Ring
It wasn’t worth a lot, but Caitlin’s daughter said the girl would like it because it was pretty and sparkly.
She handed over the new ring to the little girl – a gift and thanks for being so special. The smiles that were had in the parking lot that day would stay with both families forever.