Mar 12, 2024 — Of all 750 designs we make, this one has long been a Cardie favorite. What makes this card message ring so true, do you think? And does it hold true for you?
At dinner this past Saturday night here on the terrace on Miami Beach, my dear neighbor friend Mickey put things in perspective when she shared that she is looking forward to her family’s move to Des Moines this summer, “but I’m afraid I will really miss my old friends here. I mean, I’ve known them for EIGHT YEARS,” she emphasized, and that is nearly a lifetime when you’re eleven!
Over the amazing eggplant parmigiana that her father had made, it felt good to share with this old soul something my dad said when I was heading off to college. He knew I was feeling as Mickey does now about parting from old friends when he said, “Jo, all these friends you’ve grown up with, you can have as friends for the rest of your life. But without going away to college, you will never meet all the people waiting there to be your friend.”
It was so cool that Mickey only needed to look around the dinner table to know that was true … her dad’s friend of 30 years, Ben, was in from Connecticut, and my friend Sarah was visiting from Chicago where we met more than 40 years ago. Sarah shared with Mickey that, during her stay, we’d gone to a fun supper club to see her first boyfriend (at 14) perform on what happened to be his 70th birthday. In his Liberace-calibre costumes, bopping all over the stage — and through the audience, too! — his act that night included a rousing “Happy Birthday to Me!” She hadn’t seen him since she was 19, but Sarah laughed, “He hasn’t changed a bit!”
As we all sat discussing how the term “old friend” doesn’t quite cover it, I thought of interesting comments two Cardies had left recently. Penny Schiller had written, “I have even googled ‘SYNONYMS FOR FRIENDSHIP!’ Words like ‘Besties’ or ‘Pals’ just don’t do justice to the experience of getting to know another human being who enriches your life in a million different ways, on a million different levels. The non-lover who touches your soul (‘NOVER???’ See what I mean? It’s hard!)
“I’ve been racking my brain and cannot seem to force a fitting new word or phrase out of it. I’m talking about the friends you can always count on,” Penny explained. “The friends that — when you look in your drawer where you keep cherished memories — most of the cards you find are from them. True Cardies and Soul Friends. ‘SRIENDS???’ See what I mean? It’s hard!”
Donna Cochran picked up the thread. “Penny, I’ve been having similar thoughts about finding words that ‘feel right!’ There is a Celtic word for ‘soul friend.’ It’s ‘Anam Cara.’ In his book of the same name, John O’Donohue writes eloquently about the spirituality of friendship.”
And Contributing Cardie Candy Clausell seems to sum it all up beautifully with, “The truest sign of a special friendship is when years have passed and you finally meet again and feel you are home. To Friends! They take the pain out of life and replace it with joy.”
Jodee Stevens
Founder & Chief Creative
Mar 12, 2024 —
Of all 750 designs we make, this one has long been a Cardie favorite. What makes this card message ring so true, do you think? And does it hold true for you?
At dinner this past Saturday night here on the terrace on Miami Beach, my dear neighbor friend Mickey put things in perspective when she shared that she is looking forward to her family’s move to Des Moines this summer, “but I’m afraid I will really miss my old friends here. I mean, I’ve known them for EIGHT YEARS,” she emphasized, and that is nearly a lifetime when you’re eleven!
Over the amazing eggplant parmigiana that her father had made, it felt good to share with this old soul something my dad said when I was heading off to college. He knew I was feeling as Mickey does now about parting from old friends when he said, “Jo, all these friends you’ve grown up with, you can have as friends for the rest of your life. But without going away to college, you will never meet all the people waiting there to be your friend.”
It was so cool that Mickey only needed to look around the dinner table to know that was true … her dad’s friend of 30 years, Ben, was in from Connecticut, and my friend Sarah was visiting from Chicago where we met more than 40 years ago. Sarah shared with Mickey that, during her stay, we’d gone to a fun supper club to see her first boyfriend (at 14) perform on what happened to be his 70th birthday. In his Liberace-calibre costumes, bopping all over the stage — and through the audience, too! — his act that night included a rousing “Happy Birthday to Me!” She hadn’t seen him since she was 19, but Sarah laughed, “He hasn’t changed a bit!”
As we all sat discussing how the term “old friend” doesn’t quite cover it, I thought of interesting comments two Cardies had left recently. Penny Schiller had written, “I have even googled ‘SYNONYMS FOR FRIENDSHIP!’ Words like ‘Besties’ or ‘Pals’ just don’t do justice to the experience of getting to know another human being who enriches your life in a million different ways, on a million different levels. The non-lover who touches your soul (‘NOVER???’ See what I mean? It’s hard!)
“I’ve been racking my brain and cannot seem to force a fitting new word or phrase out of it. I’m talking about the friends you can always count on,” Penny explained. “The friends that — when you look in your drawer where you keep cherished memories — most of the cards you find are from them. True Cardies and Soul Friends. ‘SRIENDS???’ See what I mean? It’s hard!”
Donna Cochran picked up the thread. “Penny, I’ve been having similar thoughts about finding words that ‘feel right!’ There is a Celtic word for ‘soul friend.’ It’s ‘Anam Cara.’ In his book of the same name, John O’Donohue writes eloquently about the spirituality of friendship.”
And Contributing Cardie Candy Clausell seems to sum it all up beautifully with, “The truest sign of a special friendship is when years have passed and you finally meet again and feel you are home. To Friends! They take the pain out of life and replace it with joy.”
Jodee Stevens
Founder & Chief Creative
Friends are those people that you simply MUST reach out to when life kicks you in the teeth.
To life! To friends!
As many Cardies know, Candy & I have been friends since birth. We lived across the street from each other & played together daily until the age of 7 when she moved away. Luckily we never lost touch. Candy is my first call after my frequent trips to the Mayo Clinic. We know each other’s history, our likes & dislikes, our passion’s & frustrations. Friendship to us is loyalty & love.
You got me thinking about friendships… A whole lot of introspection going on :-) !