The most beautiful discovery true friends make is that they can grow separately without growing apart.  ~Elisabeth Foley Today I met two old friends for lunch; we don’t see each other often… but when we do… it’s like we’ve never parted and we were together just yesterday.  I worked closely with these women for many years.

Marie Cole, Rebecca Carter,  and little old me.

Rebecca Carter is the first designer and friend that sat across the divider from me while we pushed  art pencils and filled a lot of brushes with paint.  We were both a part of an in-house  design team that designed Tole Painting books, wood products, stickers and scrapbook paper and products for the craft and gift industries.   She left the design team and when home to have a baby and raise her children.  However, that did not keep her from free-lancing from her home studio. She is a well-known designer of fabric, paper goods and prints.  Along with her design work… she is also an award winning  professional photographer.

Marie Cole came aboard the design team after Rebecca left to free-lance at home.  I knew Marie as a fine artist and designer long before she came to work as part of the in-house team.   I have always admired her whimsical style.  Besides creating new produces day and night,  we traveled together on business trips, all over the U.S. and had the rare opportunity to travel to China and visit the factories that manufactured our products.   Her art work was always popular with the buyers.  She presently designs products for a card company and a company that produces clip art.

It was fun to get together and catch up on all of our family’s doings and our professions.  And of course, the salads were to die for… which just added to the pleasure of the day.    More importantly, it reminded me that true friendships stand the test of time and distance.   I made up my mind… that I wouldn’t let so much time go by without getting together with these wonderful friends on a more regular basis.

Just thought I’d share this wonderful day with you.

Till Later,

Kathy
Insightful Nana

P.S.  I hope you have friendships that past the time and distance test.

“Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another, ‘What! You too? I thought I was the only one.” ~ C.S. Lewis