|
Page 4 of 4
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Web Producer
Shari was born and raised in a small town in Southern Ontario, Canada; the ‘baby girl’ of the family.
In her youth, she was always involved in some sort of sport in an effort to keep up with her jock older brother: softball; figure skating or swimming. She also participated in various youth and social groups. Shari’s summers were always fun, with one month at summer camp; then every August, her family traveled through Canada and the United States on camping trips.
She has amazing memories of sitting around the Coleman’s lamp playing cards, monopoly alongside the box tent trailer; driving through terrible storms and hurricanes, (stories for another time). Her father kept on going, never turning back, always saying, “It will be okay, the weather will change; it is going to be a trip of a lifetime!” This was Shari’s introduction to the power of ‘positive thinking!’
At 19, she packed her bags and waved good bye to her supportive parents at the airport, returning to milking cows on the kibbutz. She realized she wanted more out of life than smelling the fresh scent of manure at 4.00am, so moved to the ‘old city’, the ancient city of Jerusalem. Shari knew the city inside-out, studied the history of its ancient walls and passageways, and enjoyed every chance she could to take visitors to the holy places of all three religions.
Next, she began her studies at Tel Aviv University in History: World History and the History of the Jewish People. She says she always enjoyed learning and reading about history (“It is a family thing!”)
Shari met ‘DH’ (Dear Husband). They dated for six months before his company decided to relocate him to a new developing area between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. They relocated together and he proposed on the kitchen floor, while unpacking boxes of glassware! Six months later, they were married in a beautiful wedding in Israel, together with friends and family from Canada and around the world.
Shari’s next challenge was selling diamonds! As a broker flying transatlantic every month she realized her schedule was not so good for newlyweds, or for starting a family. After almost two years, she decided it was time to have her feet on the ground again and not in various airports across the eastern seaboard. She was asked to join a group of entrepreneurs to work on a new start up in the beauty industry;. They all answered phones; went to meetings; worked on marketing research, etc.
It was during this time that Shari fell in love with the internet.
It was also during this time that DH and Shari realized they were not getting pregnant and started on their roller coaster ride through fertility. After seven years, over 15 IVFs, and many other ups and downs, they were blessed with the best gift in the world – daughter MJ!
“Those years of fertility were very difficult, but I knew I was working towards the best thing in the world - a child. I was never embarrassed or shy about sharing my fertility challenges with anybody who asked. Even today, I speak to women who are going through fertility treatments, and I tell them, ‘Chin up, you are the heroes; you are the ones who are working so hard to bring a child into the world.’ A positive outlook is so important while doing this, and having positive people around you is imperative.
While going through all of these treatments, Shari found that if she could work close to home with a flexible schedule, she would be much healthier - physically and emotionally. So she worked on various new projects using her computer skills, her English (living in a non-English environment) and watched them grow into successful businesses and ventures. The challenges of starting something new intrigued her. When she was offered the position of Web Producer at the My Stone Company to work on The Friendship Stone, she didn't realize how exciting business could be, working with a group of such amazing women.
The Friendship Stone has now become part of Shari’s home and way of life: her daughter loves her Friendship Stone and keeps it with her all the time, (see her stone story). Shari won’t go out of the house without one in her purse: “You never know who you will meet or see!”
Shari’s working day flies by much too fast, and then she is off to spend her late afternoons and evenings with MJ – “My princess - we love to cook and work on art projects, take long walks on the way home from preschool, sit under a tree and ‘talk’, meet with friends or just tickle each other silly! By eight in the evening, she is sleeping, dinner is finished, DH is home, and the two of us relax by watching a silly sitcom, or drama series, feet up and a bowl of popcorn!”
|
