Our Journey Begins

My Assistant, Pat Metzger, and I had watched The Secret and bought the audio tapes to play in our cars.  One of the stories in The Secret was about a gentleman who picked up pebbles from a riverbed and put them in his pocket.  Throughout the day he would put his hand in his pocket and jiggle them, reminding himself to be grateful.

One early morning Pat came into the office saying, K.C. why don’t we make something pretty to remind people to be grateful.  She had owned a gift store in Sugar Land, Texas years before and had loved purse decorations.  I told her, why not make lots of items; things that would appeal to men, women and kids.  We got excited and began attending gem and rock shows and visiting wholesale stone and bead stores.  I drew an initial design and we decided on the base stones we would use and Grateful Stone^TM began.  I told my daughter, Tiffany, about our idea.  She thought it was a positive, creative concept and was excited for us.

Three short weeks later, Tiffany passed away after going through a small procedure in her doctor’s office. We were devastated and in shock! She left a husband and three children ages one, four and fifteen. Our world had changed in the blink of an eye. The next five years, in some ways, seems like a brief moment in time, yet in others seems like an eternity. I have been on a journey to regain gratitude in my life. This time gratitude is a conscious choice. Because of this tragic event, the impetus of Grateful Stone^TM became different for us. Our thoughts became much more profound and the miracles began.

A year and a half after Tiffany’s passing, I got married. Upon returning from my honeymoon in Europe, I completely crashed. I had been in shock and had focused my thoughts on anything that I could so as not to feel the pain of losing my daughter. Over the next two years, I experienced what I call a “walking nervous breakdown”. I was able to do what I had to do on a daily basis, but not much else. I had been going to a grief counselor and taken my two youngest granddaughters to a play therapist. During this time, Pat had to take a job as a nurse (she has a Master’s Degree in Nursing and needed to work). I kept my vision for Grateful Stone^TM alive, but was only able to make tiny steps forward. We lost our resource for the Tiffany Stone during this period of time. It wasn’t until we met our new manufacturers that things started to fall into place.

Finally, both emotionally and resourcefully, we were positioned to move forward. I believe wholeheartedly that this journey was necessary…necessary for healing, for discovery and for finding the sense of gratitude. I had thought all along that when I was able to break through the challenging times, I would be in a better position to understand more and, ultimately help more people. I now was choosing to be grateful for every day, for everything, and especially for all the wonderful people in my life. Life is a wonder and I am grateful!