Thirty years ago my wife, Carmen, and I opened a small jewelry boutique that was half the size of our tiny one-room apartment. We started slow. It was all we could afford.
After a few newspaper ads, customers trickled inside. Looking back, it is amazing the amount of jewelry one could buy for only a few hundred dollars. Times have changed, and what was once $200 may now be $1,000. But then again, I remember a gallon of milk was once 35 cents.
Thirty years is a wonderful milestone to appreciate the path of one’s journey. Our little store transformed into a building. The first customer surpassed the 50,000th. And the selection of jewelry changed from a handful of gold chains and diamonds into anything the mind could imagine.
And life doesn’t include just selling jewelry. Sometimes we are called for other quests. During these years I managed to find my birthmother, my birthfather, and so many living relatives that it would be impossible to capture them in a single photograph.
When it rains, it pours.
Carmen and my staff have witnessed many miracles including the writing contest for kids called, Why Mom Deserves A Diamond. This tradition has already touched the lives of millions of people. What began as a humble tribute to my two mothers is now in honor of all those who are significant in our lives.
Thirty years ago I dreamed of owning thirty stores. Now I realize that was such a tiny dream, for life has given us so much more.