Last night, my husband and I went to a musical performance by Roseanne Cash, winner of multiple Grammy awards, and the oldest daughter of country musician Johnny Cash. Something she said has stuck with me: “Women my age still have some important things to…
My Father, bottom left … Susan’s Parents, back row Today I learned that the final close personal link to a significant man in my life has died. Susan Rhoades was the daughter of my father’s oldest brother, Dr. Herb Schmidt. My Uncle Herb orchestrated many pivotal…
Ed and I love to plan. We have already scheduled the trips we will take in 2020. We have a month-by-month set of specific timelines to finish the novel we’re writing. And we have detailed plans for each day: Morning salutations 8:00–8:30. Writing…
In my last blog post, I asked “Is Your Intimate Relationship Making You a Better Person?” What if the answer has historically been “no?” Is there a way to change the dynamics of a relationship for the sake of each individual’s growth and improvement?…
(That’s me as a teenager, sitting on one of my Father’s Land Rovers.) My last blog (Money and My Mennonite Father) described my father as a man obsessed with living frugally. When I was a kid, I thought we were very…
My good Mennonite father was anti-materialist and anti-consumerist to an extreme. He firmly believed that God only asked for him to be obedient and humble in doing His will. He would take care of the rest. And he and my mother lived their…