by MarianBeaman | May 23, 2018 | blog, Family / Nostalgia, Memory, Mennonite History, Mennonite Lore, Nostalgia, Quotations, Reflection, Uncategorized
I am blessed because I had a Mother who . . . Read to me In appreciation, I once gave this book as a Mother’s Day present to my mother. It came back to me when we sorted through her books and papers in 2014. A well-worn book Mother read to her...
by MarianBeaman | May 16, 2018 | blog, Family / Nostalgia, Mennonite Lore, neighborhood, Uncategorized
The Scenario Begins “Hi, Marian, this is Kenny, do you know where your brother Mark is?” Our cousin Kenny, who lives in an apartment close by Mark’s in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania had called me in Florida late Sunday morning. “No, I guess he’s in church. He always...
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 | Apr 11, 2018 | blog, Family / Nostalgia, Mennonite History, Mennonite Lore, Nostalgia
Can you identify the season? Or the decade? What is the mother saying? What is her daughter thinking? Do you have family photos with 3-4 generations? If so, what was the setting (time or place) for the picture?...
by MarianBeaman | Apr 4, 2018 | blog, Family / Nostalgia, Mennonite History, Mennonite Lore, Nostalgia, Quotations
Last year when we were sorting through piles of paper in Grandma and Aunt Ruthie’s attic, I found this: just one leaf from a tablet my Grandma Longenecker began as a diary. She may have intended to add more. Grandma’s Diary: the unedited transcription:...
by MarianBeaman | Mar 21, 2018 | blog, Family / Nostalgia, Mennonite History, Mennonite Lore, Neighborhood / Environment, Quotations, Uncategorized
Howdy, Spring. You’ve been a long time a-comin’ “But you live in Florida,” you say. “Why are you complaining?” I’m not, but I wish for more flowers, more blooming trees, more singing birds ~ strawberries even, which won’t appear until April. I can never get enough of...