If summers had themes, and we really think they should, ours would be family. A new family began when Sophia and Jake got married, existing families came together for the big event, and we also attended both a Sprunger reunion and a Yoder reunion this summer! Ben dispenses with the first syllable of reunion and…
Category: Life With Ben
Ben’s Day Friends’ Day
Usually, for Ben’s birthday in June we bring lunch for his friends in the park. This year his birthday was four days before his sister’s wedding, so we put him off until July and we took great pains to tell him that it wasn’t a birthday party, it was just a gathering of friends. We…
To Have and to Hold
Ben and I have been on cooking and blogging sabbatical for a year, courtesy of Phil, but this week’s events warrant a return to social media… Sophia got married! The day was everything anyone could hope for. If I had actually snapped some photos instead of Mother-of-the-Briding it up, maybe I could show you more…
Straddling the Prime Meridian in 1970
While Phil and Ben were visiting Grandma in Kansas, Phil went through zillions of slides that his father, the history professor, had taken to show in classes, but also to record family outings while on sabbatical. He texted me this picture with the caption, “Straddling the Prime Meridian in 1970.” It’s hard to say what…
Don’t Stop Believin’!
This weekend, Ben wrapped up his performance in The Lion King Kids (as part of the ensemble.) The show was great! As usual, after the show, the cast and mentors of this Penguin Project Production sang and danced to Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’” and Ben was in his element. I love seeing Ben and friends…
Three Semi-Culinary Throwbacks in a Single Meal
2005 – Tonight, while eating dinner in the living room, we watched “Freaky Friday” because it was on. (That could be the first throwback in its own right – watching something because it is on TV.) I was transported to a bus ride back from New York City with Sophia, where I had accompanied her…
You say you want a resolution…
You know, we’d all love to change the world, but Ben and I think small when it comes to self-improvement. I think small because personal experience has taught me that saying I’m going to do something on January 1st usually results in my doing exactly the opposite that year. I guess it’s reverse psychology that…
Hallelujah
Every Christmas I watch this and it never fails. https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=664912354504856 We wish for you what we wish for ourselves: hope, peace, love, joy, and the vision to see the everyday miracles around us.
Bentertaining
It feels like years since we last had friends over for dinner, but the last couple weeks have seen a nice return to conviviality. We hosted a revival of “book club” with a group of friends that first started meeting before Ben was even born. When the kids were little, we often hosted because it…
Double, Double, Toil and Trouble
I love fall, especially when it dishes up the beautiful golden-warm weather it has recently, but this fall I am sometimes finding the contrasts and unpredictability of daily life unmooring. I want to be outside soaking up the last slanted rays of sunshine, but work beckons. I’m enjoying my cooking sabbatical, but since I’m no…