Posts Tagged ‘long distance friendships’

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »

Friends Family and My Hometown

Monday, August 9th, 2010

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!

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

Lions and tigers and bears oh elephants!

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! 

  • Share/Bookmark

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Guest Blogs, Summer Fun and Reunions, The Friendship Stone Blog | 1 Comment »

The Friendship Stone Story from Copenhagen, Denmark

Sunday, July 11th, 2010

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

  • Share/Bookmark

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in friendship, Gifts, Summer Fun and Reunions, The Friendship Stone Blog | 2 Comments »

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »