Is She or Isn't She? Only The Ring Knows...and Her Husband

As a single guy always on the hunt for prospective matches, I'm very conscious of the ring finger on the left hand of women who catch my eye.  I know, that makes me sound like a stalker or something, but, really, all it means is that I'm desperate.  Just kidding.  Let's try this again...

I tend to observe that some people I meet, though married, don't always wear a ring.  I find this mystifying.  When I was married, I was honored to wear the ring my wife gave me.  It was important.  It signified our commitment to each other, and it was a symbol of our love.  Now, I can understand if, say, a ring was lost, or maybe one outgrew the ring and it no longer fits.  But I find it surprising that there are as many as there are who only sometimes wear their rings, or not at all.

I recently attended a series of meetings at work and, during a slow moment, I scanned the hands of my colleagues and was amazed by how many didn't wear rings when I know they are married.  One married couple, both of whom work in the organization, only occasionally wear their rings.  I hate to think people actually do this, but I'm sure there are some who are actively trying to cheat on their spouse, and not wearing a ring allows them to get away with it.  Now, I'm not asking my colleagues about why they might not be wearing their rings, but I do wonder.

I would never pursue a married woman.  It isn't right, ethically, morally, or Biblically.  Having said that, the wedding ring is my indicator as to whether a woman is married.  If she's not wearing a ring, my assumption is she may be available.  Let me also mention, though, that I'm still as introverted as they come, and to approach a single woman with the intent of asking her out, or even showing my interest, is not something I can easily do.  It's much easier if there is a common friend or acquaintance who can introduce us to each other.  But when one isn't available, or if we're not at a social event, this is much harder to do.  For example, let's say I'm grocery shopping at, say, Wegman's in Columbia.  I might be amazed at the number of single women shopping there on a Tuesday evening, if I were to use the lack of wedding rings as an indicator of their singleness.  If I leaned a bit more toward the extrovertedness scale, I might actually have the nerve to do a little casual flirting.  I might then very well embarrass myself and never be able to shop there again.  OR, maybe I might just hit it off with some incredibly nice, somewhat attractive single woman, which could lead to a date and maybe even a relationship.  You never know.  For the record, though, I do not go to the grocery store to pick up women, even though I saw the Fonz take Richie Cunningham to the grocery store for that very reason once.

With that, have a great evening, everyone.  Stay safe out there tomorrow.