This post relates to Chapter 2 – The Parkers of Aurora. During the writing of my five generation family memoir, it came to my attention that my maternal Grandmother, Lucille M. (Gleich) Parker, had written quite a significant poem. A trained journalist and life-long writer, my Grandma Parker as we called her, wrote all her […]
Chapter excerpts
STRETCHED YET UNBROKEN – My final post, at least for now….
It has been 9 months since I first began weekly Friday posts for my five generation family memoir. My hardback first edition is about to sell-out, so if you haven’t already purchased your copy, please consider doing so as then my publisher will order a second edition. IMHO it makes a great Mother’s Day or […]
excerpt CHAPTER 31 – DO EVERYTHING, OR DO NOTHING AT ALL
…Cary was exactly like me in many ways, and so our life was indeed over the top, and often way over the speed limit, figuratively speaking. We both talked each other into things that were important to us individually, and – usually – we never regretted a decision which we had made jointly. He trusted […]
excerpt CHAPTER 30 – OUR COMMUNITY
…I have heard preached from different church pulpits several times in my adult life, sermons on Mary versus Martha. For those unfamiliar with the New Testament of the Holy Bible, there is a story in which Jesus goes to the home of his friends Mary and Martha (not the Mary who was Jesus’ mother), who […]
excerpt CHAPTER 29 – SURVIVING THE STORMS OF LIFE
…Another time that tornado activity came too close for comfort was on a Thursday afternoon when Cary was teaching, of course. The sky was threatening severe weather, and on the internet Doppler radar, I could see a dark red cell directly to the west of us. The kids were all inside relaxing in our upstairs […]
excerpt CHAPTER 28 – THE TRUCK
…When church let out, clouds were forming over the mountain foothills, and we thought that we might get rained on a little, but we probably could get ahead, and stay ahead, of any storm. We said goodbyes to our fellow church members, and headed toward home. It was pouring rain and there was a terrific […]
excerpt CHAPTER 27 – CHILDREN ARE A BLESSING
…I asked my children to respond to the prompt: “The following are first person accounts written by my children about their growing up in the McMinn family: what their Christian heritage as passed on to them by their grandparents and parents means to them, what being a part of our family means to them, and […]
excerpt CHAPTER 26 – A HUSBAND’S LOVE
…Perhaps the times I miss my husband the most are on the weekends. Our routine for the past decade had included couple time, mom’s night off time, and family worship time. On Friday afternoons Cary and I would often head to town, just the two of us, to run errands and then enjoy dinner out […]
excerpt CHAPTER 25 – A FATHER’S LEGACY
…When it comes to leaving us a legacy, I think these points sum up my husband’s life experience. Cary showed up every day of our children’s lives to be Dad to each of them, and God blessed him exceedingly and abundantly. I hope and pray my kids each caught this from him, and will pass […]
excerpt CHAPTER 24 – BIRTHDAYS and HOLIDAYS
…On Christmas Eve night, Cary and I were tired as usual, and so we got everyone to bed at a decent time, hit the sheets ourselves, and got a good night’s sleep. Our final instruction to the kids was that we would get everyone up when we woke up, to see what Santa had brought […]