Category Archives: Tributes

“We’ve Had the Better.”

Posted on May 27, 2018 by

My dad and I stood at the double doors to the sanctuary, waiting for twelve bells to chime and the doors to swing open. Looking at me, he said, “I’ve waited a long time for this day,” and I said, … Continue reading →

Posted in Marriage, Tributes, Uncategorized | 9 Comments

The Value of a Brick

Posted on December 20, 2017 by

In one of my moves since amassing a library, my sister hefted a box across the room and asked, “What’s in here?! Bricks??” I think the answer to her question with respect to that particular box was “no,” but she … Continue reading →

Posted in Tributes | 1 Comment

Memories–Now and Forever

Posted on September 20, 2015 by

Tomorrow I will attend my home church, as I typically do when I visit my parents for the weekend. With coffee cup in hand, I will make the rounds—hugging old (literally and metaphorically) friends and giving them the sweetened condensed … Continue reading →

Posted in Pain, Transitions, Tributes | 6 Comments

Someday

Posted on June 16, 2015 by

A few weeks ago my oldest sister had the idea that we girls should help Mom sort through her sewing room. For five or six decades, Mom has saved and stored supplies left over from craft projects, intending to repurpose … Continue reading →

Posted in Transitions, Tributes | 8 Comments

Genevieve

Posted on August 18, 2013 by

On a spring weekend more than four years ago, I made an impromptu trip home to Milwaukee. Impromptu trips were fairly common during the years I lived in Madison, since it was an easy 90-minute drive with no Chicago traffic … Continue reading →

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Shirley Franke: ‘Til We Meet Again

Posted on October 9, 2011 by

When I passed my PhD exams in 2008, I took a much-needed vacation before launching fulltime dissertation work. My travels took me to see some old college friends in Knoxville, Tennessee, and while their presence would have been more than … Continue reading →

Posted in Tributes, Uncategorized | 9 Comments