Becoming an Iowan Girl: The Reluctant Immigrant

Once upon a time, a long time ago, in 1966 to be precise, I found myself moving with my Dutch parents from Canada to Iowa. Thus, through no fault of my own, I found myself with several difficult questions to answer. As an immigrant with parents whose parents had been...

My Grandparents

A couple of weeks ago, I spent some time helping my mother, the subject of Brave Face: A Half-Dutch Half-German Child Growing up in the Shadow of WWII, sort photos. Naturally, her parents feature heavily in the book about her childhood. So, it was interesting to find...

Sisterly Love

I am the eldest of five children. As such, it appears that I am still considered the go-to person, and I like to think that my siblings still respect my opinions. Well, I can like to think it anyway!   Just recently, I spent some time helping my widowed mother...

Up a Tree

Visiting some of my grandchildren last week, one of them showed me what she can do. Yup, that’s her way up in the tree. Amazingly, she came down as easily as she went up. It reminded me of a long, long time ago when my now 55-year-old twin brothers got stuck in a Fir...

A Mother’s Anxiety

The other day, I was reminiscing with my mother, who is staying with me while we are self-isolating during this pandemic. She read through the first draft of my second middle-grade chapter book, which is currently called “Ireentje Makes Waves.” The title is a work in...

Leave a Comment Please–I need your advice!

So, Guys, I need your input on this chapter. You see, it is very anachronistic for girls to attend Charm School. How can I explain it? Any suggestions?  The girl scout leader had good news. Younkers, the department store in the middle of Des Moines, was offering girls...