When I hear the words ‘friends’ and ‘travel’, I am overcome with this feeling of joy and love. Some of my best memories in life were created through traveling the world with the people I am closest to. Sometimes though, obstacles get in the way of creating those memories. After all, life is what happens when you’re busy making plans, right? Babies, careers, pandemics, the list of life’s paths goes on. What I find most difficult is finding the balance between all of them. Thankfully, because of Dune Jewelry, I was able to create something that keeps me and my girlfriends grounded, remembering where our roots are. 

True Friends are always together in Spirit

Most people have that friend group with which they communicate often. I happen to have seven of those friends. Andrea, Athina, Brittni, Jessica, Keri, Kristen & Liz. Lucky for me, I met these girls right after high school and our relationships bloomed into our early twenties. All these girls grew up in the same town together, some even having been best friends since they were in elementary school. I am so fortunate that we found each other, and they accepted me and all my quirks. We all just understand each other. We share the same humor and the same taste in great food!! The amount of belly laughs and sore cheeks this group of exceptional women has given me will last a lifetime in my heart. 

Hawaii, California, Colorado, Massachusetts, New Hampshire. These are the states in which we all live now – seven friends, five states! Crazy, right? Well, what’s crazier is the girl’s trip we tried to plan in 2020 to celebrate our 30th Birthdays! We had been talking about it for 3-4 years. We couldn’t wait for this trip! The time finally came to pick a destination, and dates. The girls collectively came up with Tulum, Mexico. We found a gorgeous AirBnB that was a girl’s trip paradise! I knew right away that I wanted to gift all the girls a piece of Dune Jewelry so we could hold onto that moment forever.  Truly, I couldn’t wait to collect sand from the beaches we would lay out at. We were all so excited to finally all be together once again! 

This is where life gets in the way. As we all know, the entire world was hit with a global pandemic. Something completely out of our control. We had to cancel our trip. It was hard to accept that the trip wouldn’t happen, but that wouldn’t stop us from trying to make time with each other when the opportunity arose. Once restrictions started to lift, the girls would travel to each other’s homes for visits to catch up and once again, engage in those silly belly laughs. 

It’s never long distance between friends

I still wanted to do something special for this amazing flock of seagulls I get to call my friends. In my heart, I knew I still wanted to gift them each a piece of Dune. But what would I fill it with since we didn’t get to Mexico? And then it hit me. I recently planted a beautiful rose bush at my house. They are the sweetest smelling roses I have ever planted! Light pink faded into a soft yellow. The sweet scent and soft colors reminded me of my sacred bond with this group of girls. As I planted them, I knew right away these would be the petals I put into the jewelry. My house, shared with my amazing husband and kids, has always been a gathering spot for my friends whether it’s just a couple of us or the whole gang.

Now, each of my friends would remember that wherever life takes us, a little piece of home will be there too. I immediately pressed them into a book and began picking out what design each friend would receive. I couldn’t wait to give them their gifts! Seven different bracelets from the Delicate Dune Collection were what I decided on to be the perfect gift. Each design was chosen to match each friend’s personality. I’m so happy we all have a tangible reminder of our friendship to treasure whenever we get a little homesick. 

This Story is shared by Wave Maker Jaymie G. Want to share your story? Reach out to [email protected]