Amidst all the engagement, marriage, and baby announcements, a friend of mine (who recently got married) shared this Facebook post. A week later, Yahoo posted a story on the matter. If you haven't seen either of those yet, I recommend you take a few minutes to read through both the original post and the story. And then take a second to reflect on what you just read. Done? Alrighty. Take a look at Ariel McRae's rings again.

I don't know what you think, but to me, these rings are gorgeous. They're unique. They're not as large and flashy as some other rings out there, but they're very tasteful and they seem to fit her hand well. And for $130 for BOTH rings..that's a heck of a deal!

Here's what the saleslady said, "Y'all can you believe that some men get these as engagement rings? How pathetic."

My heart dropped when I read that sentence. It still makes me angry. I worked in retail for 5 years (mind you, in a bookstore, not in Pandora), and if I had said anything like that to a customer, I probably would have gotten in big trouble. As a salesperson, one of the things that you either learn the easy way, or the hard way, is that the customer is ALWAYS right. And when talking to customers, you have to have tact. Saying that a customer's potential purchase is pathetic--that's crossing a line. And what a blow to that man's pride!

"He was so upset at the idea of not making me happy enough and of me not wanting to marry him because my rings didn't cost enough money or weren't flashy enough," McRae explained.

Heck. If I just got insulted by a saleswoman, I think I'd be a little bit upset too. Thankfully, McRae's love for her now-husband overwhelmed the underwhelming price of those rings. "Y'all I would have gotten married to this man if it had been a 25¢ gum ball machine ring" she proudly posted. "When did our nation fall so far to think the only way a man can truly love a woman is if he buys her $3,000+ jewelry and makes a public decree of his affection with said flashy ring?"

And you know what, I completely agree with that statement. When did engagements become all about who is buying the biggest diamond? When did the size of the ring matter more than the words that the person is saying when they're proposing? When did our nation become so materialistic that buying a ring less than $1000 was frowned upon? Am I the only female out there who doesn't give a crap how much my engagement ring costs, as long as it's not expensive? Am I delusional for wanting it to be less than $500? Because right now, I'm feeling like I'm the looney one for thinking that this lady hit the nail right on the head.

My thought is..please save that $1000 and use it for something useful. Put a down payment on a house. Put it towards rent. BUY ME A DOG. Because if we’re being honest, I can’t wear an engagement ring to work. Not with being a nurse and having to take off and put on gloves constantly. It’s a hygiene issue, and also a safety issue. If we’re being honest, I’m a liability to myself. I have a tendency to misplace things and not be able to find them. Just because something is expensive doesn’t mean I won’t still misplace it. I don’t care about the size, I don’t care about the cost…heck I don’t even care about a ring. I’d rather have a puppy than a ring. You can’t cuddle with a ring, and personally, I don’t think diamonds are all that spectacular. It’s a “clear” rock. Big fricking whoop. There are more important things in life.

There may be song lyrics that state "diamonds are a girl's best friend," but to me, that's not the case. A diamond ring will never be my best friend. And clearly, Ariel McRae thinks so too. Because instead of punching that pretentious saleswoman and walking out of the store (may or may not be what I would think about doing), McRae calmly said, "It isn't the ring that matters, it is the love that goes into buying one that is." Amen.