Christmas diamond

One of the best memories of my childhood Christmas's, didn't involve a present I received, but one my mom did. Although, I could probably write about ten posts on Christmas memories. But then again, you can just go borrow my mom's VHS tapes because OUR ENTIRE CHILDHOOD IS VIDEOTAPED! I believe in the video camera, believe me I DO. But man, mom, there's a LOT of footage..
Anyways, this one was on tape and if I had the tech savy-ness to upload, I would love to. It was the Christmas my dad got my mom a new diamond ring.
The back story, is that my dad had a serious girlfriend before my mother. He had bought a ring, and was going to propose. I can't remember why, but he broke up with her before they got engaged and he held onto the ring. Into the picture comes my mother. They date, fall in love, and he's ready to propose. Hey, how convenient, he's got a ring already! haha, so my mom always gave him a little crap about that. Gosh, I don't blame her.
If you don't know my background: we didn't have a lot of money. Which I honestly have never thought of as a bad thing. All about perspective, and ours was good. We were rich in love and life and my daddy worked hard for everything we did have. And we were content. Our needs were met. We lived on a farm, and that farm was a child'd dream with endless hours of freedom and fun. But Christmas meant a lot of garage sale toys some years.
This particular Christmas I think I was 8 or so. Mom opened a gift from my dad and started crying immediately. No surprise there. But it was a happy/shock cry. He had given her a diamond ring. And he said it was all for her, with a little chuckle. She's just staring at it, crying, etc. And she asked him how he was able to afford it. He said 'I sold a steer'. That made her cry more. You see, those cows meant a lot to him. They were his hobby, his investment, his hardwork, his babies etc. And to sell one off like that, was a big sacrifice. And it tickles me. Think about it: 'how'd ya afford this here ring, honey?' "well darlin', I sold me a steer". It sounds pretty hick, haha. But to me as a young girl, I thought it was just another gushy thing my parents were doing that I didn't understand. Now that I'm an adult, I reflect on it as a beautiful act of love!