About Me

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If you would like to contact me personally for any reason, my email address is dtrautwein at gmail dot com.

This is what my life looks like at the beginning of 2015:

Follower of Jesus.

Daughter to an aging and increasingly confused mom who is grieving the loss of her life partner of over 60 years (he died almost ten years ago), and her youngest son, who died five years ago.

Sister to one terrific brother who is married to an artist savant; they have two adult kids

Sister-in-law to my hero, my husband’s sister. She has three adult children and six grandchildren and recently moved to Montana to be nearer to her daughter, following the death of her mom — my remarkable MIL — in May of 2014.

Wife to Richard, a remarkably patient and funny man (and handsome, too), who has made my life interesting and rich for 49 years now.

Mom to 3 grown kids – two daughters, who are special ed teachers for blind students; one son, who is a physician.

MIL to 3 amazing bonus kids – one a skilled carpenter and contractor, one a special ed teacher like his wife, and one a physician like her husband.

Nana to 8, ranging in age from 5 to 24 (both of those numbers arrived at in February 2015.) We enjoyed six boys in a row and now live closest to our two youngest – who are sisters and fill our days with delight.

Did the stay-at-home mom job for over 20 years, the hardest and most rewarding work I’ve ever done.

Owned a small floral business for seven years, beginning with one daughter’s wedding and closing with the other’s.

Went to seminary at mid-life, answered a call to pastoral ministry while there.

Retired at the end of 2010 after 17 years in two churches, always working part time in an associate role.

Currently a certified spiritual director; grateful for those I meet with each month to seek God and learn more of God’s ways.

Trying to be a better writer, to tell the stories God has written in my life.

Continually surprised by grace, challenged by the Mystery, warmed by the Spirit, grateful for the gifts of life, both the beautiful and the difficult.

*In answer to a query from a reader – the name of my blog was chosen many years ago now, when my boss strongly suggested that I begin a blog. I used it primarily for public  prayers and sermons until the first year of retirement. I’ve been trying to learn how to navigate this amazing world of cyberspace ever since. Originally, it included my initials DRGT (Diana Ruth Gold Trautwein) before the Just Wondering part – because that’s what I do a lot of: wonder, in every sense of that fine word. After being out in blogdom for a while, I realized that I should have a ‘brand’ and a ‘platform’ and all sorts of other things that are more directly tied to my name, not my blog. So my amazing friend LW Lindquist did all the legwork and designing for me and created this lovely new space, launched on New Year’s Day, 2013.

Picture legend: my mom, March of 2010; our eldest daughter on her wedding day, July, 2011; our middle daughter, July, 2011; our baby with his baby, June, 2011; our eldest and youngest grandkids – at a birthday breakfast 2 years ago for him, on her aunt’s wedding day for her; our seven-year-olds on the Big Day; our eldest’s youngest, same day; our daughter-in-law and our newest son-in-law, taken during the week of the wedding; four shots of our middle daughter’s family from different times in 2011; our youngest grandgirl, looking positively angelic on our family vacation in August of 2011, and last – but not least! – the ONLY shot of our eldest’s middle kid, taken at Thanksgiving, 2011 – he’s on the right, foreground. Our grandkids ages, as of the beginning of 2013 – 22 (on February 10), 18, 14, 14, 11, 7, 7, 3 (on February 25).