by MarianBeaman | Mar 25, 2015 | book review, Conflict, Education, Gratitude, Neighborhood / Environment, popular culture, Travel, Uncategorized
Grandmother Kayaks from Maine to Guatemala for the Children at the Dump These were the words in my invitation to a reception promoting Project Safe Passage honoring Dr. Deb Walters’ efforts to raise funds via her Kayak trips. A stellar professional career behind...
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...
by MarianBeaman | Oct 1, 2014 | Conflict, Family / Nostalgia, meditation, Quotations, Reflection, Uncategorized
Since my mother’s death in July, I have written several posts of her home-going including A Grief Observed: Missing Mother and Crossing the Bar. This time I’m focusing on a birth, our grandson Ian’s miraculous birth in 2007, seven years ago this week. According to the...
by MarianBeaman | Sep 3, 2014 | Conflict, Family / Nostalgia, Memory, Nostalgia
I have had many moments of extreme emotion. Some you may know about like flunking my driver’s test, an explosion in the curio cabinet, and a broken piano leg — and some you may not. According to my journal, this particular moment lasted almost an hour and...
by MarianBeaman | Aug 20, 2014 | Coming of Age, Conflict, Family / Nostalgia, Memory, Mennonite Lore, Nostalgia, Quotations, Travel, Uncategorized
Daddy was an avid hunter (pheasants and deer mostly) and an eager fisherman. The outdoors took him away from the stresses of his business, Longenecker Farm Supply, and helped him literally recharge his batteries. I never went hunting with him, but he invited me once...
by MarianBeaman | Jul 9, 2014 | book review, Coming of Age, Conflict, Education, Literature, Quotations, Uncategorized
Sarah’s Flair for House-keeping She was the kind of woman who took the trouble to tie her hair with a ribbon for breakfast when many wives came down tousled; who spent an extra minute to stamp a design on a block of home-churned butter; who knew how to give a...