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...
by MarianBeaman | Mar 14, 2018 | blog, Family / Nostalgia, Literature, meditation, Mennonite Lore, Quotations, Uncategorized
Magnolias are majestic and magnificent. I love magnolias! Magnolias usually appear in late March in north Florida, fading by June. The sensual blooms suggest both passion and fragility, turning brown as they age. These magnolias come from my daughter’s...
by MarianBeaman | Feb 14, 2018 | blog, Family / Nostalgia, Memory, Mennonite Lore, Romance, Uncategorized
Missing a Heart A tornado whirling through Kansas, whisked Dorothy and her dog Toto to the magical land of Oz hoping to meet the Wizard in the Emerald City. As they progressed along the Yellow Brick Road, they met three creatures who lacked something important: a...
by MarianBeaman | Feb 7, 2018 | blog, Family / Nostalgia, Mennonite History, Nostalgia, Quotations, Uncategorized
A little church in Alabama with rough-hewn walls holds a glittering stained glass window with this expression: Not lost but gone before. The saying in golden glass ends with a period though it’s not a complete sentence. Yet those five words reflect on a real...
