The Friendship Stone Blog » friendships

Summer time is Reunion Time!

shari — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 16:19:17 +0000

Guest Blog : Susan Graves Vousden On of our Facebook Friends!

Thank you Susan!

This past weekend I traveled home to attend my 35th high school reunion. I was excited to see all my old friends but also a little nervous. Some of them I hadn't seen in 10 years. All of us are in different places in our lives and I wondered if we would still connect in the way we used to. We planned to meet for breakfast on Sat at 10:00 and I hoped everyone would show up. I was worried for nothing. Everyone showed up..all 11 of us! It was like we had all met here last Sat morning instead of years ago. There was laughter and tears, teasing and consoling, hugs and kisses, and pictures. Boy were there pictures! Two and a half hours flew by, way too fast.

As I talked to my friends that morning I thought about who I wanted to give my Friendship Stones to. Who needed an extra "hug" and who had given me one when I needed it. I left that morning still thinking about how I love my friends and how different my life would be without them.

That afternoon I gave two of my friends The Friendship Stone. My one friend I gave the Traveling Stone. She's just moved, is not adjusting well, and needs to know someone is thinking of her. She also left a lot of good friends behind and I knew she'd pass the stone along.

The other Friendship Stone I gave was to a friend I've had for 40 years and she's a great friend to all and a wonderful person. She personafies the word friend and has made me a better person just by knowing her. The third stone I gave was also to a friend of 40 years. She told me she was proud of me and my strength and honesty and I was one of the best friends she ever had. I was touched and ashamed because I felt I could have been a better friend to her over the years.

I wanted her to know I was there for her everytime she touched the stone and I promised myself to touch base with her every week.

That evening was the reunion. It was a great success. Everyone had a wonderful time. I spent the evening watching my friends and thinking how empty my life would be without them. Each one adds a different dimension to my life. I have many new friends but my old friends are the best. They knew me when. They know where I came from and why I do what I do. They love when me don't always love myself. I was honored to be able to spend time with them on this special day. I was glad to be able to show them what they mean to me.

It was so much fun.

I can't wait till the 40th!!!

Friends Family and My Hometown

shari — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 01:16:24 +0000

Guest Blog : Shari – The Friendship Stone Team - Now in Canada!

Every summer, usually for the best part of August I pack my bags and together with my daughter we travel to Ontario Canada for a visit with family and friends.

I have been living in Israel for 28 years, but come summer time I become a Canadian again!

This trip however I knew ahead of time that it was going to be different. My mom who is getting older (and wiser) has not been well so we are basically staying with her and not traveling as much as as we usually do. Mom lives in an assisted living complex, the average age being 80 – all of the sudden I feel really young!

I have been cooking – cleaning – doing laundry etc…oh yes this is a working vacation!

We also have played bingo – watched movies with the girls (again 80 and over) and gone on short but nice walks. Spending time with mom is good.

Don't Look at my Cards

Mom is the serious Bingo Player

I want spend time with my close friends. So I called my "girls" and explained to them the situation. Of course they said no problem we will come to you. Mom goes to Dialysis 3 times a week for 5 hours so we are available to do stuff during those time slots.

Last Saturday my Girl Jackie and hubby surprised me with a visit on the way to visiting her father in law in another city.

Sunday my oldest and closest friend Debbie came in from Toronto with her hubby and took us sailing for the morning on her father's boat – then picked up mom and went for lunch together, Debbie and I have been friends since the day we were born – we are second generation friends, our Mothers' were Best Friends too.

What an amazing gift friendship is.

My oldest closest friend and My Princess

Friday, my Girl Eve came in with her daughter and we spent the day at the African Lion Safari.

We were 4 little girls having fun!

The girls played together and got along amazing. I even had a ride on an Elephant! I love the elephants – except I think that their eyes look sad all the time.

MJ asked if I had a Friendship Stone in my bag, (of course I did) she asked if she could give it to her friend! I thought that was a wonderful idea – so the two of us gave Mom and Daughter a unique gift to remember this day of Friendship and fun.

Second Generation of Friends

That was fun! her name is Lilly

Now we all know that Facebook is great for connecting friends right?

A couple of months ago I found a high school friend on Facebook(she was only in school with me for a short while but made an impact on my life) . Claudia had come from Chile and had traveled to places that I had only dreamed about!

She is beautiful!

Well last week I noticed that she was on Facebook…Said hello and told her I was in Canada visiting my mom. She told me that she would be at her father's close to my mom's place – so we planned to meet.

It has been almost 29 years since the last time I saw Claudia but when she opened the car door…. she looked as beautiful as she did when I last saw her!

Claudia was being silly and we loved it!

We spent a great afternoon together (she brought her 6 year old princess) - The two of us walked the paths down the Hamilton Waterfront , caught up with each others adventures in life as the girls scooted in front, and

MJ and I gave them Friendship Stones to remember the day – Claudia received a Traveling Friendship Stone – she is a traveller – it will be fun to watch her stone travel the world.

Ice Cream is an international language for kids!

Weddings – a reunion of friends!

shari — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 04:58:31 +0000

Guest Blog: Shari from The Friendship Stone Team

Oh how wonderful it is to go to a wedding.

I love it.

I promise myself each time I go to a wedding that I will not cry!

That is a good joke! I cry!

And last night was no exception – the groom, I have watched for the last 14 years grow from a boy into a man. And now he is has chosen to turn his best friend into his wife – his partner for life!

How beautiful is that.

I promised the grooms parents that I would prepare a video clip of the wedding ceremony – but looking this morning at the footage I have – it is going to be difficult!

Can you tell that I was crying and had to wipe the tears away at the wrong time – I missed the Groom breaking the glass!

So what did we have at this wedding? A beautiful gathering of friends and family.

The Ceremony was traditional Jewish Orthodox. I love how the Hupah (Canopy) is set up higher than the guests so everyone could see the young couple's expressions during the ceremony.

The friends of the bride and groom danced them to the hupa as they were accompanied by their parents – first the groom and then the bride.

The ceremony itself was beautifully done allowing for family and honored guests to participate.

Oh how young and beautiful they looked under the canopy!

Then the party began! The dancing – the singing – the eating!

I must call my girlfriend later today and thank her for seating my family and me at a great table.

I sat with friends that I once worked with (a few years back) and enjoyed every minute of our reunion during the many courses of the dinner!

Catching up with one and other –we went around the table and telling us one by one what they are up to, how their children are (two have grand children already), how work is, etc. It was great to hear all of the stories – two friends went back to school part time (master's degrees) two had grandchildren already – one just downsized into a smaller home…. I told them what I do and of course told them that they would be subjects of my blog this morning!

Once we were caught up – the conversation flowed – we laughed and laughed just like old times.

This reminded me of a great quote that I recently read:

“Good friends are like stars…. You don't always see them, but you know they are always there”

The rest of the evening flew by – and finally my 6 year old said " Mama – Daddy wants to go home, he's tired!"

So before slipping out of the party – I gave a Friendship Stone to two friends that I reconnected with. I placed the stone in their hands and just whispered in their ear –

"Thank you for being my friend, I am here for you always"

I got the best hugs!

The Friendship Stone Story from Copenhagen, Denmark

shari — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 11:38:00 +0000

Guest Blogger : Lori Webb

As I prepared to interview Danish entrepreneur, Liselotte Østerby, founder of the newly launched website, http://www.thefairpages.com, I hadn’t even thought about the significance our time together would bring.

Liselotte and I had been connected through a mutual friend, fellow American Expat, Bryan Traum and owner of Denmark’s first eco-lifestyle store, http://www.ecoego.dk Bryan had been working with Liselotte on the final elements of The Fair Pages and recommended (wisely) that I consider interviewing her for my forthcoming international book series, Entrepreneurial Profiles (link: http://www.entrepreneurialprofiles.com). The more I heard about the project, the more interested in it, I became.

One amazingly beautiful, summer day, Liselotte and I, were able to meet and decided to do our interview in The Royal Danish Botanical Gardens. As we walk among the lovely flowers, shared stories about ourselves, our businesses and our aspirations to impact the world, we began to connect.

As I completed the interview with Liselotte, her passion, conviction and dedication to her newly launched endeavor led her to make a statement that hit me so hard at my core that tears began streaming down my face. As she spoke about the increased need for sustainability, social responsibility and mind shifting for a better tomorrow, she made the concluding statement, “It’s not about how to make the first million (dollars) but, how to save the first million (people)!”

Much like my own project, Liselotte, has invested years towards fulfilling her dream to bring the fair pages to life. Now, it is launched and time for the next phase. It is an intense and scary period and when you have spent so much time creating something in virtual isolation it is a challenge to truly let it go and dare to let it flourish on its own merit. It is invigorating and at times lonely.

As we began to wrap up our conversation, I found myself reaching into my bag for a friendship stone to give her. A little startled, yet, clearly happy with the prospect of an unexpected gift from a new friend, she began opening the small package. As she admired the stones beauty, she held it up to the sun and more closely examined its patterns and how it changed in the light. I explained the background of the stone and how I wanted her to have it as an anchor that she could carry with her to give her strength on those inevitable difficult days that we, as entrepreneurs, often face.

By giving her the stone, I wanted to empower her with the knowledge that she mattered and that what she had done “already” touched at least one person- me. It was my way of saying I see her vision, I connect with her aspirations and that I would now be one of those in her corner rooting for her in good times and bad. I wanted her to know that I appreciated her for her audacity to try to change the world. Giving her the friendship was simply my way of saying thanks.

About Lori

I am Lori Webb and I am the founder of Indspark! I started Indspark! to combine my various professional and personal background to help entrepreneurs with a special focus on women and early phase business endeavors. I have worked in branding, fashion, media, retail management, customer service, design, communication and education. I hold a Master of Science in Information Technology (Design, Communication & Media) and a B.A. in Theatre and English. As an infomaniac, I am a dedicated lifelong learner and have a range of addition certifications from baby signing to creative thinking to natural heritage interpretation.

My diverse background provides you with a unique and thorough look at your brand (think: multi-sensory) as well as providing you with new perspectives (think: technology & trends) on how to create or improve its experiential reach.

I am also currently completing my first book, Entrepreneurial Profiles, which will also provide international “indspark” for entrepreneurial spirits worldwide. The book is a diverse and global look at 21st century entrepreneurship. There are now over 110 entrepreneurs connected to the project from around the world. The first book of the series will be out Fall 2010.

Join the Facebook fan page at: http://www.facebook.com/entrepreneurialprofiles

The “Swingers”

shari — Sun, 02 May 2010 08:27:35 +0000

The “Swingers”, a group that swings together, stays together…

I am talking about a real swing, the type of swing that you drop 210 feet and then swing out over trees tops. Now that was scary and thrilling at the same. The scariest part was the fact that I actually had to release myself for the drop. I was thinking as I was pulling the pin out that was holding me up; maybe this is really just a bit crazy? But after I did it, Wow, what a thrill. I screamed like crazy, (that was fun too) and then started to enjoy the swinging.

The reason I think friends that swing together stay together is connected to my good friend from Mexico. She was absolutely terrified to go on this swing. I convinced her it would be fun , not really realizing what was involved.

Swinging with Friends

Once we got there and saw what it was, she did not think she could do it. With a bit of encouragement, she made the decision she was going for it. She had opted out of a bungee jump the day before and was determined not to let fear stop her this time.

Amazing View

The guy that straps you in at the top of the swing liked to scare you as he was connecting you, by telling you how the swing was so much scarier than the bungee jump. I went first and let him know to not even go there with my friend, as I was sure she would back out if he started telling her how scary the swing was. He took me seriously and just helped her out, no stories.

Here I Go!

Screaming - Fear or Fun?

I will Swing with you anytime my friend!

The feeling of “I DID IT” is so amazing afterwards, that your connections to the people around you that encouraged you to take that swing, are strengthened 10 fold. The group that all took the swing together, encouraging each other towards that moment of pulling the pin out, were empowered and forever connected.

Huge thanks from me to all my swingers out there!!

Generations of Friends

shari — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 08:03:00 +0000

We recently hosted two 18 year old young men from the United States for 9 days. With one of them we have a 3 generation friendship! My parents were good friends with his grandparents, his uncle was on of my best friends growing up, and his Mom was in my sisters class….you get it, our families go Way Back!

How fun is that to have the opportunity to meet the next generation. I could tell by the emails I received from his mom and uncle how relieved they were that he would be staying with me in this far away country. I was so excited to meet him and his friend. Their visit sparked my own journey down memory lane of childhood friendships.

Both of the boys have been trying to decide where they will go study next year, and they had this time while abroad to think about it. During the time spent at our house I heard them talking about one University and by the end of the week they had decided on another one!

Third Generation Friends

I could not help but think about the new Friendships they would be making at University – wow new beginnings.

One of the most exciting things of going off to Collage/University are the endless possibilities that are in front of you.

It is the best time to burst out of one’s shell or place. Most likely you have been in the same school for at least 4 years if not more. People around you kind of decide who you are and keep you in that place, whether you have grown out of it or not. We often seem to live up to or down to the expectations around us.

Going off to a new place is an opportunity to start a new beginning. You can be whom ever you want, wow now that is exciting! No preconceptions of who you are. That is one of the reasons why I LOVE new beginnings. They can be hard, but they offer us endless opportunities in personal growth.

Many friendships that are made during the first weeks or first year of University will last a life time.

You start to learn that you can have all kinds of friends, each one for a different reason, a different place or to do different things with. You learn how to juggle your high school friends and make room for the new friends that are coming into your life.

Having these young men spend time with us reminded me how much I still appreciate my high school friends from Georgia and can’t wait to get together with them all this summer, as I head back to my home town to reconnect with all the friends and people that helped shape the person I am today.

Friends, Friendship, You, Me, And Us

shari — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 07:39:01 +0000

I recently have been thinking about some of my favorite songs about friendship, and so many of them have hit the nail on the head. “People who need People are the luckiest people in the world” or You gotta have friends”, or Winter, Spring, Summer Or Fall, all you got to do is call, you’ve got a friend. Now these writers really knew what they were singing about.

What is our life about and what meaning do we have in it without those that surround us, the people, the friends that are there with us, for us and for us to be there for them? It would be pretty lonely for me if I did not have the daily or weekly contact with my friends. Some times neither of us actually have time to spend an hour catching up, but a quick “Hi, I was thinking of you”, really can be a great pick me up as well.

My Best Friend

My husband is my best friend. As I heard his message on my voice mail

“Hi, I have a 2 min break and just wanted to say Hi”,

I felt those chills run up and down my back and felt warm and loved all over. Love was pouring out of me as well, just knowing that he still takes the time to think about me, pick up the phone and say a quick “Hi, you are on my mind, I just wanted to hear your voice.” I consider that a wonderful friendship gift, the gift of his presence. The gift of appreciation, appreciation of me, of “US”.

I know that I am an “I”, and he is a “You”, but our “Us” is so much better!

Friends For Better or for Worse….

shari — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 07:56:03 +0000

“I, take you, to be my friend, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish; from this day forward until death do us part. ”

This is a common wedding vow that so many of us have taken (or a variation of it) and we try our hardest to keep to it!

Our partners in life are supposed to be our best friends so this makes sense to make a vow to one and other!

We have other good friends in our lives; however we don’t usually exchange vows with them – even though the union of two close friends is really not any different than the union of marriage based upon the above vows!

Our good friends we want to have and to hold – for better and for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health…

So do we?

Have we been friends during good times and then found it difficult to be friends during hard times?
Have we been friends when everyone is healthy and then shied away when someone gets sick?
How about financial difficulties?
Have we helped when we can
It is so easy to be a friend when we are all in a utopian state of mind and health but when times get tough?

I have been working with My Stone Company almost three years and let me tell you I have learnt so much! Cathy Raff – the founder and president is my boss! Everyone should have a boss like her. It is a pleasure to wake up in the morning to tweet and facebook my status as “Hi Ho Hi Ho it’s off to work I go – With a smile on my face!”

Yes, I have a great job – but I love my job because of the amazing people who I work with. They have become my friends. Cathy – the ultimate Friendship Advocate or Queen of Friendship has shown me over and over again how important friends are in our lives – during good times and even more so during difficult times!

All of us (4 women – two continents, in 4 cities) have all gone through difficult times and I see how our friendships have helped to keep us going. Cathy has discussed in her blogs how during her illness (UC) her friends stuck by her and helped her through the difficult times.

Almost two years ago my father passed away, it was a terrible time for me, I had to leave my daughter and husband in one country and fly to his funeral and mourning period in another. But through the help of friends (and family) I got through it! My closest of childhood friends came and sat with me, held my hand, and hugged me when I needed it. The emails and calls from the “girls at work” were full of warm and beautiful positive words; I felt their hugs from so far away. Even the shortest of text messages

“I love you, I am here for you”

made me feel so much better.

I don’t think that I would have been able to go through that time without my friends!

I know that it is extra work to be a friend during difficult and hard times – but it pays off – the reward of an even stronger friendship is the best!

Celebrating my Best Ex’s Birthday

shari — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 09:15:28 +0000

Last week I had a wonderful day celebrating my Best Ex’s birthday. It has turned into a tradition, one that she actually started a few years back, on my birthday.

My Best Ex!

A few years ago she invited me to her favorite restaurant for my birthday, since I had never been there before. Of course daughter #1 was invited too. We had a great time. The next year when her birthday rolled around I returned the gesture, and again we had a great time. Now I am happy to say it has turned into a tradition. This year we extended it however to a longer day than just lunch.

Celebrating Birthdays together

We decided to hit a few birds with one stone. Because we live in the same neighborhood, and we both had a few errands to run, we did it together, first mine, then hers, then a nice cup of coffee, then mine again. It was a lot more fun doing it together than alone.

Best Friends Celebrating Life Together

This year I chose a restaurant, Carmela B’Nachala that is right next to the open arts and crafts market. The market is up on Tuesday and Fridays on Nachalat Binyamin in Tel Aviv and I thought it would be great to combine lunch together with a stroll to see the local arts and crafts. The sun was shinning and we had a great day. Daughter #1 joined us for lunch and a wonderful tradition continues.

#1 Daughter #1 Best Ex and Me!

Unique Friendships gifts, packed with meaning for the Holidays

shari — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 06:06:31 +0000

As the Holidays draw near, and for me, actually are upon us, I have to stop and think about what it means when I give gifts and what are the ones that my friends that are close to me are going to really love. I have come to the realization that what seems to touch my friends the most are the words I write when I give a gift, and that the gift should have meaning.

I have been in touch with Jerry Lopper,and last year I read in his blog that he always takes a lot of time to write a letter to each of his family members at Christmas time, talking about the previous year, and all of things that make him feel good about the person. I love that idea. It is great to take the time, and think about all the reasons you love having some one in your life, and then telling them! It accomplishes two things, brings into focus your appreciation for who you have in your life, and why you love having them share in your journey, but also, lets them know how much you appreciate them and why. Wow, now that is really great.

As the holidays draw near, think about just how lucky you are in your life, I know that I am so truly blessed to be surrounded by so many incredible friends. Each one of my friendships is unique, just as each individual is unique. As I am searching for a unique gift for each of them, I am reminded to find one that is full of meaning; one that will stay with them long after the Holiday has past.

Happy holidays and Happy making this one packed with meaning!