Magical Memoir Moments
Living in a Almost Tiny House: Creative Grandparenting Spaces
When we decided to move to Pittsburgh for a year, to help take care of granddaughter Lydia, we thought it would be important to have a place of our own. The more intimate the work, the greater the need for two-family-privacy, was the idea. So we moved into one apartment and later into another. But…
Prince Charles, Pittsburgh, and People Turning Seventy
I remember how pleased I was to read, in My Weekly Reader, in 1957, that Prince Charles was born in 1948. He was my age! I would later learn that Al Gore, James Taylor, Kathy Bates, Stevie Nicks, Samuel L. Jackson, Alice Cooper, and Andrew Lloyd Weber, all share the same birth year, which means. ….
Moving Across the Bridge: From Dream to Reality, Christmas to New Year, and Part I and Part II of Our Pittsburgh Adventure
The end of December is like Monet’s Japanese footbridge, says writer Philip Martin. For us, this time has been a moving experience, bridging Christmas and New Year, dreams with reality, and the first half of our “grannynanny” sojourn with the last half. Christmas Kate and Nik hosted our whole family in Pittsburgh, the city of…
Feeling Useful: A Place Where Age and Love Meet
In my twenties and thirties and forties, I was a professor. In my fifties I was a college president. In my sixties I was a foundation executive. Now that I am six months away from age seventy, I’ve been promoted to “granny nanny.” But what, exactly, does that mean? Obviously, it means helping to keep…
What Remains: The Most Lasting Images from 24 Days in the Baltic Region . . . And a New Chapter Begins
Travel brings many rewards and pleasures too obvious to mention. But it also contains a danger: too many miles covered too quickly can all blur at the beginning and fade at the end. That’s one reason to take pictures. Looking back over the entire set of 340 photos taken over 24 days of travel, some…
The Garden of Good and Evil: Savannah, Georgia
Savannah, Georgia. Magnolias, Spanish Moss, Palm Trees. Stuart and I are enjoying a beautiful week in the Old South. He is working. But this weekend we are meeting up with six other Showalters and spouses to explore the city. In the meantime, we are getting a head start on the river walk. And tonight, it’s…
A Mother Blessing: Something to Consider in Your Life?
Last Sunday I participated in an alternative to a baby shower called a Mother Blessing. I knew I would enjoy it because my fun-loving, color-loving, people-loving daughter would be the expectant mother. Not only did I enjoy this event, I was deeply moved. Everything was exquisitely beautiful. We gathered at Coterie — a woman-focused co-working…
Three Glorious Days and a Sign Off Until Easter
O what a wonderful time we had. Three days in a row of joyful frolic. Mother celebrated her 90 years with more than 100 of her closest friends and family. Our immediate family booked the entire Forgotten Seasons Bed and Breakfast. Kathy and Jay Wenger set a lovely table for us on Sunday morning. Here…
Teaching and Learning Across the Life Span: 2017 Here We Come!
As the new year begins, I am connected to young grandchildren and to the honors students, seniors at Eastern Mennonite University, I am preparing to teach this semester. Beyond this semester, I look forward to becoming a “grannynanny” again next fall.
Hope and Perseverance in Post-Election America
It’s been harder than usual to focus on words this past week. As I searched for words, I also walked, reviewing and reflecting upon the sights and sounds in my world since the election. Sights Sounds For several weeks, I have looked forward to seeing Krista Tippett and Courtney Martin again, two friends I…