by MarianBeaman | Aug 29, 2018 | blog, Coming of Age, Family / Nostalgia, Quotations, Tips
Two Beaman families enjoyed Mexican fare at Chuy’s, a Fifties-themed restaurant where patrons can observe hand-rolled tortillas being tossed in air and prepared for the table. When our orders were delivered, we stuffed ourselves with tacos, enchiladas, and burritos....
by MarianBeaman | Jul 18, 2018 | blog, Coming of Age, Family / Nostalgia, Quotations
Jenna is our only grand daughter. This July she turns thirteen. She is still very girly, but she is growing up fast and now prefers a more sophisticated look. Once upon a time, this little girl was a three-year-old princess. She woke up in the morning, got out...
by MarianBeaman | Jun 13, 2018 | blog, Coming of Age, Family / Nostalgia, Mennonite History, Mennonite Lore, Nostalgia, Uncategorized
My dad was a workhorse. He plowed with mules in the 1930s in our field in Bainbridge Later I stood beside him on a mechanical “beast” here in the same field cultivating the soil with a Massey-Harris tractor soon to plant tomatoes. Poet...
by MarianBeaman | Apr 18, 2018 | blog, Coming of Age, Gratitude, meditation, Memory, Mennonite Lore, Uncategorized
Soon! Strawberries may not be ripe in your part of the world—yet! But they will come soon, Maybe in May or June. Sam Gamgee, Frodo Baggins’ sidekick, remembers the taste of strawberries: Do you remember the Shire, Mr. Frodo? It’ll be spring soon. And the...
by MarianBeaman | Dec 14, 2016 | blog, Coming of Age, Family / Nostalgia
Not Quite a Bar Mitzvah Grandsons Patrick and Curtis, born 7 weeks apart in Chicago, both turned thirteen this fall. If they were Jewish, they would each have observed the bar mitzvah ritual: Bar = son; Mitzvah = law or commandment, able to participate in all areas of...
by MarianBeaman | Oct 5, 2016 | blog, Coming of Age, Education, Family / Nostalgia, Mennonite History, Mennonite Lore, Reflection, Uncategorized
Yesterday, Tuesday, October 4, my Aunt Ruthie celebrated her 98th birthday. Born in 1918, she is a towering figure in my life and, and along with Mother and Grandma Longenecker, my strongest mentor. And she has been mother/teacher to many. * * * See the determination...