Magical Memoir Moments

Co-hostess Melissa Frost places a flower crown on Kate. So many special touches!

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…

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The beautiful Atlantic Ocean.

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…

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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.

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Super moon by Rebecca Breems

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…

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I'm living in the cottage to the left of the larger building. Photo take from the bridge between the Arboretum and the campus of St. John's University.

Finding a Public Voice: At Homecoming

Seth Godin says that you can tell whether or not you have a tribe by discovering they miss you when you don’t show up. I didn’t post last Wednesday, and I didn’t send out a Magical Memoir Moment on Thursday. You probably thought I was just contemplating life beside the lake. Or watching the mist…

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The Shadow Side of Birthdays: The Side We Can’t See

I grew up listening to “Keep On the Sunny Side” as I helped to milk cows morning and night. It was the intro to the local radio station’s country and gospel music program. I never saw the Carter Family in person, but here is Mother Maybelle and her famous guitar and famous daughters. Look at…

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A hobbit house in Hobbiton, New Zealand, preserved from the movie set.

Escape to New Zealand: Taking You With Me

New Zealand helped me escape. Tolkien, the author of fantasy novels about hobbits, would approve. Now the challenge: to see and remember the wisdom of an enchanted land, and then to share it.

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The practice jersey. I'm well past #63 now.

How #70 Became 70: A Tribute to the Linebacker of My Life

My husband Stuart turns 70 today. I found an old photo of him as a high school linebacker wearing #70. It led to a meditation about Stuart’s role as the linebacker of my life.

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Moon over Orlando. A wishing moon.

How I Found My Word for 2016

My word for 2016 arrived just in time for Epiphany, the holiday we celebrate today. The timing is perfect! Learn how I found it and share your dreams for 2016.

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Gliding, Swinging, and Proposing: Love in Motion

My father proposed to my mother while they sat on a porch glider. Stuart popped the question on a double seated swing. Forty-six years later, love is motion.

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