I just received this special gold award pin from the Victoria Real Estate Board for being in the top 10% in Victoria for 5 years! I have received two other pins in the past from the Board and every time, including this, the award has arrived in a Birks box and every time it has hit me emotionally. This time it seems to have really hit me  as this is a special award.  It makes me think of my mother. My mother grew up in Toronto and  for all my years as a child and teenager she worked in the financial district in a tall skyscraper for a well-established law firm. She was a “secretary” for a QC lawyer. She  worked pre and during the “Mad Men” era.  She loved Birks and identified that store with significance.  For many years my mother would receive a Christmas gift from her boss from Birks. It was always something special for the dining room. We loved watching her unwrap these beautiful gifts. They usually came with meticulously and elegantly put together layers of bows, paper,  boxes and tissue paper before even a hint of a gift was revealed. We all knew that mom loved Birks.  I remember going with my brother one year to buy her a Christmas gift. He knew exactly where to go and what to get. Trying to keep up to his pace he took me with him into Birks , pointed at the item bought it and was out of there in less than 5 minutes. I swear! He knew he couldn’t go wrong because it was from Birks. He was right. My mother loved that gift from him. I  know my mom would have seen this pin as special because it was made from Birks.  It brings tears to my eyes thinking about it! I miss her so much!  Here’s to you, mom!

 Rosemarie