Tamra's Third Time Is a Charm

Hi everyone! I'VE MISSED YOU!!! Time has been moving at lightening speed since I left Housewives four years ago. Recently I've been finding that I have more time on my hands now that five of our seven children are adults. George and I are slowly drifting into a different phase of our lives and now find ourselves preparing to be empty nesters. We are more like spectators versus managers of our adult children as they carve out their own paths. With only two daughters at home, I have more time to goof off!

Over the past four years, I have occasionally run into the women, usually in shopping malls, but other than the cordial small talk, I really never got caught up with any of them. So, when I got an invitation from Tamra to help her pick out a wedding band for Eddie, I was really excited to catch up with her and hear about everything that I had missed out on over the past few years.

It was really good seeing Tamra and once we started chatting, it seemed like old times and nothing had changed. . .except for the fact that everything had changed! The last time that I spent with Tamra, she appeared happily married to Simon. Since that time she has gone through all these serious life-altering changes! So imagine how I felt when I walked into the jewelry store. Was I supposed to mention the past or just dive into the present?

I enjoyed watching Tamra select and design a wedding band for Eddie. It seemed like only yesterday that George and I did the same thing, although we have been married nearly six years! Brian was so nice at Nuggets and Carats. He offered to clean my wedding ring and noticed that I was missing a small diamond from my wedding band. He not only cleaned my rings but also replaced the missing diamond free of charge! Thank you Brian!

Tamra seemed concerned with the cost of the bands that Brian was showing her, as I am sure she was feeling the financial burden of investing in her gym. I was merely being facetious when I mentioned that perhaps she could buy Donn Gunvalson’s ring. I know that when Vicki and Don renewed their wedding vows, he had received a spectacular new ring. They divorced not long after, so I thought, why let it go to waste? This leads to the question, what does one do with their wedding ring after divorce? I passed on my ring from my first marriage to Ashley since she was our only child from that marriage. It contained a diamond in it from my great grandmother so I thought it would be a nice tradition to keep that in the family and pass along. As for my ring from my second marriage, I have to tell you a funny story. After filing for divorce, I was short on money. I took it to a pawnshop to get some quick cash only to learn that my 3-carat diamond was a cubic zirconia set in platinum! Needless to say, after leaving the pawnshop, I was still short on cash!

If the past few years were stressful to Tamra, you sure wouldn't know it by looking at her. She looks great and seems really happy. I had only met Eddie once before the day we went ring shopping and he was somewhat quiet and perfectly charming. I am genuinely happy for them and wish them nothing but the best. I truly hope that they will experience what George and I have found. BTW. . .It really is true, third time is a charm!

If you want to catch up on more of my life, I try to keep in touch through Instagram @lauri_peterson and Twitter @LaurifromRHOC.