Luann Tennant Coyne

Category: Family

Giving to Myself at Christmas

Side view portrait of a runner relaxing breathing deeply fresh air outstretching arms in city outskirts

This is the season of giving, and I swung into full giving mode a while back. I usually enjoy giving to others. But today I woke up cranky and irritable.  I’ve been giving so much that I feel drained and worn out. At times like this, one of my good friends reminds me that Self-Care… Continue reading Giving to Myself at Christmas

God’s Refrigerator

One of the most difficult spiritual lessons I’ve ever had to learn is that God loves me unconditionally, no matter what I do or don’t do. It is so much easier for me to think that I can at least partially earn God’s love and approval through my good works.  After all, my thinking goes,… Continue reading God’s Refrigerator

“Changing Direction”: The Art of Positive Distraction 

When I was sick with Covid, doing pretty much nothing but aching, resting, and sleeping more than I’ve slept in years, I got a call out of the blue from a young mother I had met months before. She needed to talk. She told me that the call helped her, but I know it really… Continue reading “Changing Direction”: The Art of Positive Distraction 

Thanks, Aunt Pat

Abstract artistic watercolor painting sunshine colourful background

Recently my husband and I traveled to East Jordan, Michigan, for the celebration of life of my mother’s sister, Aunt Pat. Patricia Vance Schloop was several months past 100 years old when she passed on, vibrant and beloved to the end. *** Dear Aunt Pat: Thanks for thousands of hot dogs and s’mores, served on… Continue reading Thanks, Aunt Pat

Farewell to Aunt Dorothy

Defocused sunset sky and ocean nature background with blurred panning motion.

Earlier this month, Frank and I were in Marlborough, MA to attend the funeral of my husband’s aunt, Dorothy Francis. Last time Frank and I were in Marlborough, we were caring for our baby granddaughter Hanah while her mother Elizabeth was working on the East Coast. It was 2017, and Frank and Liz and I… Continue reading Farewell to Aunt Dorothy

Passalong Stories

There are living stories in my yard, putting out leaves in the spring, blooming in the summer, going dormant in the fall. Stories of endurance. Of perseverance. Of stopping to delight in the unexpected.  Of using one’s ingenuity to purchase beauty on a nonexistent budget.  Of having the tenacity to bloom on, no matter what… Continue reading Passalong Stories

Joy Comes With the Morning

Strong confidence young woman standing alone and open arms under the sunrise on top of the mountain. She was delighted and happy to come and see the sunrise from the top of the mountain.

When my father was dying and Mom and I were standing at his bedside in the hospital, Mom asked me to read Psalm 35 aloud to Dad. When I got to verse five, “Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning,” Mom repeated it, raising her voice because Dad was hard… Continue reading Joy Comes With the Morning

A Day for Gratitude

Begonia with red flowers, isolated on white.

In 1961, in a small town in rural Michigan, a first-grade teacher helped her students fill paper cups with dirt and plant a begonia seed in each cup. I was in that class. We set our paper cups on the sun-drenched windowsill of our classroom and, in between learning East from West and North from… Continue reading A Day for Gratitude

No Reason to Quit

Success transformation and Transform to succeed or improving concept and leadership in business through innovation and evolution with paper origami changed for the better.

In the family I grew up in, not having the resources to do a job was never a reason to quit; it was merely an opportunity for ingenuity. You searched for creative solutions, you got the job done, and then you could take pride in your innovativeness. One example was my father’s hat solution. One… Continue reading No Reason to Quit

Anchored Beside the River

Sometimes I get infected with the belief that I have to fix every problem that comes at me. I forget that the answer to many problems is just to accept them.  When I keep looking for a fix that isn’t there, one thing that restores me to sanity is to go outside and listen. I… Continue reading Anchored Beside the River