The Mergenthaler Family

 I have been taking pictures of brightly colored leaves all over town, including our own yard. Pretty, right? But now I'm distracted by the phrase, "taking pictures." It sounds violent. So, I'm thinking of other ways to say it, "capturing photos?" nope. "Snapping pictures?" nah. "Catching memories," isn't so bad, but it kind of makes me sad to think that whatever I preserve in a picture will never that exact same way again. Well, that's enough deep thinking from me. Back to work.

 Letters From the Nest, October 18, 2024 https://lettersfromthenest.substack.com/p/im-trying-to-see-like-jesus      Fiddlesticks. I can’t remember if I have already written about this thing I’m thinking about today. I guess it’s okay if I write about it more than once. I say the same things repeatedly, don’t I? Might as well write them too. That way, when I’m long gone, and you’re all sitting around telling stories about me because I  know  you will, and somebody gets something wrong, because I  know  you will, one of you can say, “We don’t have to argue about this. She wrote about it right here!”  Disclaimer #1: Just because I write about something doesn’t mean my opinion won’t evolve with time and experience. Disclaimer #2: Just because I write about my core beliefs on acting/reacting/living a certain way doesn’t mean you’ll always observe a perfect replication of the righteous sentiment in my daily behavior. Like you, I get mad, tired, and...

If you asked me when I was a child about my favorite season, I would have answered Fall because of school and my birthday. I was a nerd. I continued to like fall when we moved from California to Wyoming because I thought snowy winters were really neat. You could build forts, go for snowmobile rides, sled. You could gather icicles. My biggest winter challenge was not slipping on the sidewalk as I walked to the seminary building from the high school. I graduated from high school in Wyoming and then spent a couple of years in Siberia (i.e., Rexburg, Idaho) and then Utah. The cold became less glamorous to this California girl. Our move to Washington state brought a different kind of winter weather--not freezing, but gray and rainy with early sunsets. Still, it was alright. And, of course, I still had my birthday. The big change from love to hate happened during our nine years in Iowa. My fond fall feelings declined to disgust and dread. It's not actually pretty in Eastern Iowa in ...