Donald Jewelers is family

Sometime last year I heard the news, Donald's was closing. Instantly I thought, no. Can't be. They've been there my whole life. And yet? Today is their last day. I'm happy for the men who run the business, that they get to go out and enjoy retirement, but I'm sad for a part of my life in Michigan, on Grand River Avenue, to be gone.

Donald's has always been more than just a jewelry store for my family. Located right in the heart of downtown Howell, right next to the courthouse my mom worked at for my whole life, it's been a place where we've gone in good spirits, in the blazing hot summer, in the cold winter snow, always with a smile and a joyous occasion to celebrate.

Donald's sold my parents my first pair of pierced earrings when I was thirteen years old and allowed to get my ears pierced. Fourteen carat gold butterflies on a post that came in a silver velvet box. I still wear them. Donald's is where my sister and I got to go with our parents prior to our sixteenth birthdays. In our house you got a class ring or a birthstone ring. Angela and I chose wisely, we both still wear our birthstone rings regularly.

Donald's is where my parents and I took the golf and choir medals I'd won at high school competitions to be engraved. Never once did Buss (the younger Donald) charge us for those engravings. He always spent time talking about my accomplishments, asking questions, spending a few minutes connecting even though I'm sure he had mountains of work in the back of the shop to focus on.

Donald's is where grandma got my first watch, a small Timex. I wasn't with her, as it was a birthday gift, but she made sure to tell me that when I needed a new battery she would take me to Donald's and we'd get one.

Donald's is where I accompanied my dad, year after year, to watch as he picked out just the perfect piece of jewelry for my mom for Christmas. Laid out there under the glass were always beautiful necklaces and fancy rings and lovely pins. Dad would pick something out, Mr. Yax (the older Donald) would wrap it up and we'd leave knowing Mom would be happy on December 25th.

Donald's is where I took old pieces, passed down to me, and had them fixed up, shined up, and was always surprised that Buss or Mr. Yax never charged more than a few dollars for this labor-intensive job. We'd shoot the breeze, and after I'd moved out to L.A., I'd listen as Buss told me stories that would work as scripts. He always has an idea or two to share, many I've written down and will someday claim as my own!

Donald's is where I took my grandmother's diamond ring after her funeral. It was now mine, the two-diamonds on the gold band that her father had given her when she was just barely sixteen. I'd intended to have it reset, something more modern. Buss took so much time with me and my mom, he found books and catalogs of settings, websites he e-mailed to me after I'd come back to L.A., wanting to make sure I found just the perfect setting to remember grandma with. And ultimately? He's the one who convinced me, not through specific words, but through his heart and his careful prodding, that maybe the ring was perfect as it was. It's solid, it's beautiful, it's timeless. And so? After months of talk and planning and him even drawing out a few settings on scratch paper for me, I didn't change a thing. And Buss seemed to think that was just fine. And it's a ring I wear every single day now.

In July Angela and I made some cookies and took two plates down to Donald's. Mr. Yax was off on a clock call, something I'm sure he'll continue doing forever despite his retirement. But when we walked in and saw the mostly empty glass cases, we knew an era was ending. We thanked Buss for what he has meant to our family, to our town, and to us. His family, including his mom, has been a source of joy in so many of our family's important moments and I love that about our Howell community. No matter how far I've gone or how long I've been there, people like Donald and Mr. Yax were always there to welcome me back and remind me of what makes a village.

I'll miss Donald's. But mostly I'll miss visiting with Bussy and Mr. Yax and gazing upon the jewels in those glass cases and wondering about what's next. For all of us.