Magical Memoir Moments
Do You Have a Landscape of Love? A Walk Down Memory Lane
This is Northlawn, my college dorm, 1966-1969. I fell in love with Stuart in the spring of 1967. He was a grand senior. I was a lowly “frosh.” Stuart pinned a red rose corsage on my lime green Spring Banquest dress while I stood on the porch of that dorm. Now, after 45 years of…
Seven Lessons from My Lenten Sabbatical
I expected that a Lenten Fast would give me a time to rest. I craved a less active, more contemplative, life. Did I get it? Well, yes. What improved? Exercise. At least an hour/day of stretching, weights, walking, yoga, and even a little jogging. I feel stronger and leaner, especially when I wear Spandex biking…
Grandparenting: How it Helps Us to Simplify
I’m sitting at my desk, looking out at the mountains, and thinking about speaking to more than 100 Mennonite women this Friday night at the Amigo Centre, a place I know well, not too far from Sturgis, Michigan. The subject is Recovering Simplicity, a topic that Mennonites have grappled with for a long time and…
Three Things Every Grandparent Learns Again and Every Wise Parent Knows
Today’s post was going to be about children and memoir storytelling. I had it all set up like this: The post would be the third in a series of how my grandchildren are my spiritual teachers. The first post (2011) was about learning attention and proprioception (awareness of the body) from a baby. The second…
Richard Gilbert’s Memoir Shepherd: A Masterpiece of Rumination
Did you know that there are 150 ruminant species living on earth? Sheep, goats, and cattle, however, play a special role. About 10,000 years ago they helped bring us agriculture and the familiar landscape of pastures and meadows. I learned that fact from one of my favorite guides to memoir, Richard Gilbert, whose posts and…
100 Magical Memoir Moments: A Possible New Book?
Have you ever walked out the door, sniffed the air, and felt an arrow fly into your heart? I think there must be another kind of Cupid in addition to the one at Hallmark — a Memoir Cupid who sends us pangs of joy or sorrow from our past. Scientists who study memory know that…
Why There’s More than Enough Love to Go Around
It’s tempting to think of love as finite. A loving mother can help her children to trust the infinite nature of love. Were you fortunate enough to have a loving mother? If not, how have you found love in your life? Today’s writing prompt: Can you tell as story of the day that you touched…
57 Varieties of Wisdom: Sooner or Later, We All Quote Our Mothers (and Fathers)
As I intimated in my last post, the response to my Facebook query asking for examples of sayings from parents was amazing. Fifty-seven responses in all, counting multiple entries and conversations about entries. Then my Facebook friend Linda Hoye posted a Mary Englebreit painting featuring these words: “Sooner or Later, We All Quote Our Mothers.”…
The Frugal Traveler: A Mini-Memoir
The pattern started on our honeymoon, 1969, 40 years ago. Stuart had $600 in his checking account when we got married. I spent all the money I earned that summer– the summer of my 21st birthday, the summer of Woodstock and the moon landing, and the summer of our wedding– on the wedding dress, flowers,…
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