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- SADJE LIFE AFTER 50 FOR WOMEN
IT’S EASY TO PLAY ALONG WITH #WQWWC
This weekly writing challenge runs from Wednesday through Tuesday. The only rule is to use a quote.
If you want to participate, create a pingback to link your post. Not sure how to do that? See how to create pingbacks here. Be sure to link to the most recent post not my page. I don’t see links to my page. 🙂
“A quotation in a speech, article or book is like a rifle in the hands of an infantryman. It speaks with authority.”
Brendan Behan
FRIENDSHIP CAN BE INTENSE
Last week I stumbled across this wonderful post on John RH’s blog. It is crammed pack, not just with quotes, but with an amazing narrative John wrote summarizing the Lapham’s Quarterly post. The quotes took my thinking deeper than my normal Google searches. Here are some samples.
Under the magnetism of friendship, the modest man becomes bold, the shy confident, the lazy active, or the impetuous prudent and peaceful.
—William Makepeace Thackeray, 1848
What a wonderful experience it is when friendships sharpen each other and make them shine. It’s great incentive to choose your friends wisely. This rosy picture works for Cee’s FOTD #25.
Seven years would be insufficient to make some people acquainted with each other, and seven days are more than enough for others.
Be courteous to all but intimate with few, and let those few be well tried before you give them your confidence.
—George Washington, 1783
It’s always a thrill to find a quote from someone so well respected by all in our country, without whom there would not have been the country we know and love. I can see why George Washington was so well respected by those around him.
There is no shop anywhere where one can buy friendship.
—Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, 1943
For me, the keyword in this quote is the word buy.
When my husband, Mark was sick, he wanted a new computer that would give him access to the internet. I started shopping by phone for a computer.
One salesman said, “Let me know what you find out.” when I told him what I was doing.
He must have know that every salesman would give me information that in no way related to what any of the other salesmen were telling about their products. So I called him after each phone call to his competitors to try to make an accurate comparison.
He was so helpful and interested in assisting someone he didn’t know that, I told Mark that we had to go buy a computer from him even though I had no idea whether or not it was the best deal. Then I told my friend Connie, who was single I’d met just the person for her. I gave this salesman my friend’s number and somehow nothing materialized.
After Mark passed away, I remembered Vince, and went back to the store where I bought my computer. He was still single (surprisingly). I left MY number that time, and eventually he called. The rest is a 26-year history.
Online Friendships
Now, we buy many products online, but what about friendships? Again, the key word is to me in that quote is buy.
Have you met any folks online who you couldn’t imagine living without now? For the last month I featured flowers every day from Australia. They came from a wild three-week photo shooting frenzy while visiting two online blogging friends from Australia. They, and many others like them, whom I have met blogging are now life-long friends.
Here is Erika/Erika’s post, “I Can Tell That We are Going to Be Friends.” about her blogging friend get-together. You will know some of these bloggers.
This month, I decided to participate in a photo challenges hosted by another dear online friend, Cee Neuner. Cee’s Flower of the Day Challenge – (FOTD). By participating in challenges like Cee’s (or mine) bloggers make regular visits to each other’s websites and spend time learning what is important to them – a very valuable aspect of friendship.
Cee’s FOTD challenge accepts:
- Single flowers
- Buds
- Multiple flowers
- Bouquet
- Flower fields
- Wildflowers
- Tree or bush blossoms
- Autumn leaves
- Spring leaves
- Decorative Cabbage
- Berries
TIPS FOR DEEPENING BLOGGING FRIENDSHIPS
Challenges are not essential to making life-long friends, but making regular visits to each other’s sites are. Ways that people make their friendships online work.
- Zoom calls
- Social media connections in addition to blogging
- Phone calls
- Personal visits
- Vacations together
- Short-term or ongoing projects
- Featuring each other on your blogs – interviews, links to their posts, or reblogging or sharing their posts
- Learn together or from each other
- Share friends – introduce them to other people you like on and off line. One of Carol’s outings in the US with a friend of mine she spent the day with.
- Write a post for them.
As a blogger, you probably have tons of tips as to how you have made friends line. Please feel free to add to this list in the comment section.
PUT ON YOUR FRIENDSHIP THINKING CAP
- What can you say about friendships in your life?
- What do they mean to you?
- Where did you meet?
- Who is your longest friend?
- Who is your newest friend?
- Have you ever shopped for romance online through dating sites? How did that work for you?
- Do you like your best friend’s mate?
- Does that person like yours?
- Do your friends’ families intertwine?
- Have they made you a better person? IN what way?
- Have you made them one?
I would love to hear what you have to say on this topic.
I’ll be watching for your pingback. If I miss it, don’t be shy and leave me a comment and another link.
Upcoming and Ongoing
- August Story Chat Summary aired today for A Dress for a Princess. Thank you so much, Cathy for hosting August and September Story Chat
- PPAC #10 is still open for your entries or just click on the links and travel around the world visiting public art.
- Next WQWWC September 1: Work or Career/Employment will be on Yvette Prior’s blog Please link to her WQWWC post.
Marsha Ingrao - Always Write 
Great post Marsha. I love your story about the pc and returning. I always think that it really costs nothing to be kind and helpful in a natural way (not a fake sales pitch way) and I always remember and go back to stores with people that are like that. Last year I was looking for balloons for my LO christening and found a lady who had just opened a shop who produced personalised balloons. She was very kind and helpful and even offered to drop them off at the venue for me to make sure they didn’t blow away (winter in the UK can be a dangerous time to be a balloon – haha). Then covid hit and people couldn’t really celebrate but as I knew she would deliver balloons I contacted her again and sure enough, she would deliver personalised birthday balloons too, so I have ordered many in the last year and always recommend her to friends too. She’s now moved to a bigger shop so I assume things are going well. It goes to show it’s nice to be nice and a little act of kindness goes a long way.
Thank you for featuring my last post.
I went with Intensity this week (any excuse to feature a quote by Colin Firth).
https://new2writing.wordpress.com/2021/08/25/seeing-the-world-differently-the-book-effect/
KL ❤
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Thanks for the lovely comment, KL. What a wonderful story about the balloon lady. It sounds like she is doing well. 🙂
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Loved your post Marsha. Beautiful quotes and wonderful friendships. Thanks for the mention
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Thanks, Sadje. Friendships are everything! 🙂
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I totally agree
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THose were great Marsha…I especially love the quote by Thackery. So good.I love your thoughts on friendships too and the questions. Friendships are so interesting. I feel like personally, the “best friend” group has eluded me. The “hey let’s go to dinner, take a girls trip” friendships never transpired. I have enjoyed getting to know people online and have had the privilege of meeting a few blogging friends.
https://troyerslovinglife.blogspot.com/2021/08/wqwwcaugust-25th-themeintensity.html
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I am sorry you missed best friends, but I guarantee that you have had best friends in your life. Just in the short time I’ve known you, I can see how much you care about others. Best friends are few and far between. I think I had fewer when my mother was alive because she was my very best friend.
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Thank you for your kind reference. Always a pleasure.
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You are more than welcome. Thanks for sharing such great information.
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I loved your story about how you and your husband met… who knows how simple connections will turn out. As far as blogging friendships go, currently seven of us are enjoying Vancouver Island together (five live here full time, two of us traveled from Southern California).
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Ok, Janis, now I am super jealous! That sounds like so much fun. I have seen some of your posts together. You are all welcome to come to Prescott, or I’m happy to go to San Diego – for sure! I have some very close non-blogging friends there as well.
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Hi Marsha, I will check out John’s post after leaving here. The gift of friendship is priceless and makes all the difference navigating the challenges in life. The photo of you and Mark is beautiful. Interesting how you met Vince.
I wholeheartedly agree how blogging friends are now life-long friends. Thank you for sharing a great list for deepening blogging friendships. In answer to a couple of your questions: longest friend (56 years – still my best friend) New friends – blogging friends who have become my in person friends. We had the recent opportunity and privilege to meet as a group. They have enriched my life on many levels. Thank you for sharing an awesome post, Marsha, filled with many gems.
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I found your post on my post, but not in my comment box. Thank you for drawing it to my attention. I wouldn’t have found it until I started writing my post for next week, and Yvette is guest hosing. So my deepest apologies for missing it, but I’m so grateful that you caught it. Your comments are always full of wisdom and kindness. Wow, 56 years is a long time. I do have a couple of friend that long. One of them went to junior high school with me. We reconnected on Facebook and I went to see her in 2013. She still lives in Indiana and it was like we had never been apart after sharing all that had happened in our lives. The other two were the daughters of my mom’s best friend in Indiana. We spent a night with them as well. Her parents were then in their late 80s and early 90s. Mom had given them piano lessons when they were about 8 and 9. Since they took turns, we spent time with the other piano student in our rooms playing games. They learned to play well. I never did. We are all still friends thanks to Facebook. Thank you for your lovely comment, Erica/Erika. Have a wonderful week. 🙂
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Hi Marsha, There have been many recent glitches for all of us on WP. This is a great post on friendship. The topic is timely and timeless. Interesting about your friends through the piano lessons. You have a wonderful week, too.🙂
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Thanks Erica.
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You and Vince were meant to be. Lovely photo of us too!
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We were all meant to be! The photos of us get cuter as we get older!!! LOL
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lovely post Marsha 🙂 love all the quotes and the stories ❤
https://ladyleemanilablog.wordpress.com/2021/08/26/wqwwc-39-friendship-or-intensity/
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You’ve included some great quotes, Marsha. I agree with you that one can’t buy friendship. I love your story about meeting Vince. It must have been sad to lose Mark though.
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It was very sad. He had been ill all his life, though and lived much longer than his sister who had the same genetic disease.
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😢
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what joy in friendships and love the dinosaur when you said sharpening friendships. Don’t eat any of them! sooooo heartfelt the friends developed through blogging! Love you quotes 💖💖❤️🌷🌷🌷
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Funny. I didn’t even notice the two went together LOL live my blogging friends!
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That’s why you have so many friends… more 👀 eyes to see .. it was perfect!!! At least I thought so! 💕
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LOL My word for the rest of this year is Fortunate. I AM fortunate to have many friends and you are one of my favs. 🙂
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Awe I love it and I am fortunate to have you as a friend too Marsh!!! 🥰💕❤️
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Awwww I’m turning to mush Marsh. 🙂
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👏💕🙌😎
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It is amazing how we makes friends through our blogs, Marsha. I feel like my blogging friends are closer and better friends than people I know physically.
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I love both, but I have many that are much closer mentally. It’s hard to replace the ability to have gestures and facial expressions and be in the moment. But when you get to meet bloggers in person, it is even more special.
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Hi Marsha, here’s my post;
http://lifeafter50forwomen.com/2021/08/29/writers-quotes-wednesdays-writers-challenge-39-friendship-or-intensity/
Thanks
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Love this, Sadje.
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Thanks Marsha ❤️
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🙂
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❤️
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What a great blog – I am honored to be included – I really miss our walks and talks! The Rose Garden workdays were wonderful. We miss you at every workday.
The picture of you are Vince at the Bologna Feed is PRICELESS – You won 2 awards that night – outfit and appetizer. Do you have a photo of the appetizer – It was hysterical!
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I think Vince took a photo. I probably did too, but this was all about people, not Spankies. LOL
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Thanks, Sadje!
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