by MarianBeaman | Apr 11, 2015 | blog, book review, Coming of Age, Literature, meditation, Mennonite History, Mennonite Lore, Nostalgia, Reflection, Uncategorized
Clearing out a house after death is a sacred act, yet no amount of holiness assigned to this task can dismiss the back-breaking, shoulder-aching, neck-craning job of sorting, recycling, and passing on to others the possessions of a loved one. Aside from clothing and...
by MarianBeaman | Apr 8, 2015 | Coming of Age, Conflict, Family / Nostalgia, Memory, Nostalgia, Quotations, Uncategorized
Are you wishing for different weather just now? Maybe a change in scenery is all you need to perk up. After a rough winter, the drowsy dreaminess of a warm, languid clime may sound very appealing. If so, you have something in common with the middle-aged Lottie Wilkins...
by MarianBeaman | Mar 18, 2015 | Coming of Age, Education, Family / Nostalgia, Mennonite History, Mennonite Lore, Nostalgia, Quotations, Uncategorized
Where did you study? Was your desk a dining room or kitchen table? The couch? A separate room? Did you listen to music as you studied? Or did you tune out the noise of the household when you crammed for a test or wrote a report? Louise DeSalvo author of The Art of...
by MarianBeaman | Mar 11, 2015 | Coming of Age, Family / Nostalgia, Gratitude, Memory, Quotations, Uncategorized
Recently Grandpa Cliff and NaNa Marian took the Beaman boys to the Odditorium (not a misspelling!) of Ripley’s Believe It or Not in St. Augustine Florida. The Saturday excursion was billed as a Mystery Trip, so the boys didn’t know exactly where they were going, but...
by MarianBeaman | Feb 14, 2015 | Coming of Age, Family / Nostalgia, Memory, popular culture, Quotations, Uncategorized
Actor Tom Hanks in the movie Forrest Gump tries to strike up a conversation with a tired nurse seated beside him on a park bench. Holding a box of chocolates in his hand, Forrest offers her a treat, “My mother always said, “Life is like a box of...
by MarianBeaman | Jan 7, 2015 | book review, Coming of Age, Conflict, Education, Literature, Quilt, Uncategorized
Sue Monk Kidd, best known for her debut novel, The Secret Life of Bees, has published her third novel, the acclaimed The Invention of Wings (2014). My Review A full-page spread advertising Sue Monk Kidd’s latest work of historical fiction recently appeared in...