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Mennonites Don’t Dance

Mennonites Don’t Dance

by MarianBeaman | Jan 30, 2019 | blog, book review, Mennonite History, Mennonite Lore, Quotations, Uncategorized

Maybe Mennonites Dance Now But they Didn’t in the 1950s In Lancaster County, PA   In her nineties, my mother jived to music on iTunes from my iPod. But she was dancing with her hands and heart, not her feet. Her heart? Yes, she was probably recalling Daddy...
Matryoshka Dolls and Your Great-Grandmother

Matryoshka Dolls and Your Great-Grandmother

by MarianBeaman | Dec 19, 2018 | blog, book review, Family / Nostalgia, Quotations, Uncategorized

Did you know the name Matryoshka means “little matron,” or “mother” in Russian? Do you have a set of nesting dolls?   My friend, Kathy Gould, who manages a charity fund ministering to families and children in Ukraine, gave me these dolls years ago. They enjoy...
The Tale of My Silky Green Robe

The Tale of My Silky Green Robe

by MarianBeaman | Dec 12, 2018 | blog, Family / Nostalgia, Memory, Nostalgia, Uncategorized

I have a quilted green robe. It feels like silk, but the fabric is probably rayon. It has hung on a bathroom hook for a long, long time.         It has a history My mother-in-law gave me this robe as a Christmas gift before our children were born. It came...
Aunt Ruthie’s Diary and a London Family Video

Aunt Ruthie’s Diary and a London Family Video

by MarianBeaman | Dec 5, 2018 | blog, British History, Education, Family / Nostalgia, Memory, Nostalgia, Travel, Uncategorized

Do you remember where you were when . . . President Kennedy was assassinated? The Challenger exploded? Planes hit the Twin Towers in New York City? You can probably easily call up your surroundings when these cataclysmic events happened. But you most likely don’t...
Do Mennonites Laugh?

Do Mennonites Laugh?

by MarianBeaman | Nov 28, 2018 | blog, book review, Cliff Beaman artist, Family / Nostalgia, Mennonite History, Mennonite Lore, Quotations, Tips, Uncategorized

My Mennonite parents laughed very little, except when relatives and friends tickled their funny bones. They took the business of parenting very seriously. Other relatives lit up with a sense of humor: I carry an image of my Grandma Fannie and Aunt Ruthie once slapping...
Thanksgiving Collection I

Thanksgiving Collection I

by MarianBeaman | Nov 21, 2018 | meditation, Memory, Nostalgia, Reflection, Uncategorized

This post was first published for Thanksgiving 2013, the year I began blogging. I did not know many of you as friends then, so I’m posting this again for our season of gratitude in 2018, keeping in mind those victims of California wildfires and senseless...
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