We Just Fit

"Our love story began in high school. We went to Junior Prom together as good friends and later

became a couple in our senior year. Upon graduation, we attended the same college and were lucky

to have each other to lean on as we navigated life away from home for the very first time.

I think we both knew we were each other’s forever person very early on. Our families knew each

other, shared the same values, and we had very similar childhood and life experiences. We. Just. Fit.

Before graduating from college Dan proposed and presented me with a ring purchased with money

he had saved working a Summer job. We married five months after graduation and less than two

years later we purchased our dream home, an 1870’s colonial on Main Street in Myersville.

We lived there for 37 years, raised our two sons and celebrated life to the fullest. Over the years on

special occasions, Dan gifted me with several beautiful rings… an eternity ring for a special

anniversary, an emerald, a sapphire, and a ruby, to name a few.

Also in that time I fell in love with gardening and found myself wearing rings infrequently because my

hands were always in the dirt and took quite a beating!

Eight years ago when Dan’s parents passed away, we moved onto his family’s property named

Meadow Branch Farm. During our extensive renovation work, I also had a logo created for our farm-

a whimsical branch underscoring the name of our farm.

In October of 2024 Dan and I celebrated our 45 th wedding anniversary and 50 years of being a

couple. Still not a “ring person” I contacted Stacey about the possibility of repurposing some of the

rings I’ve received during our life together into a necklace. I wanted it to tell our story and become a

piece that I could wear close to my heart.

How do you tell a 50 year story without feeling emotional? Stacey made our meeting a beautiful and

poignant experience by allowing me the space and grace to share it.

My necklace takes my breath away every time I wear it…. a gold branch that includes one stone from

each of the five rings I brought to our meeting. For us, it is much more than a piece of jewelry. It is

symbolic of a marriage that has had so many beautiful and shiny moments as well as so many

unexpected twists and turns… like the branch it is anchored on.

Thank you Stacey, Andie, and the entire team at InBloom for allowing me to share our story."

-Julie and Dan Gaver