by MarianBeaman | Jan 28, 2015 | book review, Family / Nostalgia, meditation, Nostalgia, Uncategorized
January 28, 2014 – It is six months to the day since Mother passed away. I feel melancholy now. Maybe the cold weather has something to do with it, but more and more I miss the warmth of our Saturday morning long-distance phone calls and sitting around her...
by MarianBeaman | Jan 14, 2015 | Family / Nostalgia, meditation, Memory, Mennonite Lore, Nostalgia, Quilt, Uncategorized
A snapshot of a baby boy dressed as a girl and an old flash bulb. Those are some of the items we find clearing out Mother’s house. Last October my sisters and I began the arduous task of sorting, saving, or recycling the accumulated store of her possessions...
by MarianBeaman | Jan 10, 2015 | Family / Nostalgia, Memory, Mennonite Lore, neighborhood, Nostalgia, Reflection, Uncategorized
Every single memory of snow in my childhood is pleasant. Sparkling flakes in luminous free-fall as I look out the kitchen window. Snow festooning evergreen boughs. Then bundling up in snowsuits, knitted caps, mittens. Getting out the sleds. After more than one...
by MarianBeaman | Dec 30, 2014 | Family / Nostalgia, Literature, meditation, Mennonite Lore, Nostalgia, Quotations, Uncategorized
Happy New Year! My wish for you in 2015 and beyond is expressed in a card sent to Grandma Fannie Longenecker in 1913. And some fresh camellias too! Happy New Year ~~ Happy New Year ~~ Happy New Year Next post in January 2015: Who’s Coming...
by MarianBeaman | Dec 17, 2014 | Family / Nostalgia, Gratitude, Lists, Mennonite Lore, Nostalgia, Recipes, Uncategorized
Color psychologists say red represents energy, passion, and motivation to act. Red is everywhere this season: Santa’s costume, cranberry dishes, poinsettias. I’m seeing red too. In Ian’s Santa cap at the Orchestra Zoo . . . In Mother’s...
by MarianBeaman | Dec 13, 2014 | Nostalgia, Quotations, Uncategorized
When I registered online for the 5th season premiere of Downton Abbey, there were fifty-nine (yes, 59!) salutations to choose from on the drop-down menu. These included Father, Monsignor, Cantor, Rabbi, Lieutenant Commander, Dean, Major, Mayor, and the humbler Mr. or...
