My mom wore my great grandfather’s golden ring for most of her life. Bjarne Edgar Grottum was an attorney and state senator for Minnesota. “Everything in moderation,” he would say. He’d say it enough that when my mom started wearing the ring when she was younger she’d use the ring as a reminder. She’d gently rub her finger over the worn oval and repeat “everything in moderation.” I remember the motion and accompanying words a hundred times over from my own childhood. In my head, I called it the Moderation Ring.
Last year, my mom surprised me by gifting the ring to me. I had never expected it, but once I had the ring it felt powerful. To me it held the history of my family, the embodiment of years of wisdom from my mother, and that gentle pull towards balance and moderation. I wear it every day, as my mom once did, and I’m trying to let it guide me.
I can be prone to extremes. If I open a bottle of wine, I need to drink the whole thing. If I’m eating healthy, I can’t cheat. If I watch a show, I need to consume it as fast as possible. If I’m reading less fanfiction, I’m not reading any fanfiction. This or that. All in or all out. I manage my obsessive personality as best I can: it’s why I didn’t drink until I was twenty-one and why I try to set up healthy routines as boundaries.
I am the kind of person, as my mom well knows, who could benefit from a Moderation Ring. I think we can all benefit from a reminder to keep our balance, to indulge and discipline ourselves in equal measure.
With Love,
Natalie