Exploring the Third Season of Life

Notes from Vanaprastha

Reflections on Faith, Nature, and Writing

Recent Posts

Ole Tom

Ole Tom

This past holiday season, Keith and I tried some new recipes – herbed lamb roast with yogurt and cucumber, pot roast with creamy mushroom grits and a root vegetable medley - and trotted out the old favorites – turkey with bread stuffing, mince pie and Christmas...

Reality

Reality

After church and lunch yesterday, Keith and I went grocery shopping. Keith pushed the cart into the produce section while I consulted my list. “Do you want some fruit?” I asked. “Um, sure,” Keith said, distracted as he looked towards the floral department. The cart...

Reaching for the Light

Reaching for the Light

Christmas is the season of light, perhaps an irony in the Northern Hemisphere during the shortest days of the year. Like the Taoist forces of yin and yang, when our days seem dark and our nights long, when all we see is failure, the light of truth appears closest...

Keeping up

Keeping up

"’I didn't know what twerking was, so I had to research it.’ –mom” (Twerking: a combination of the words ‘twist’ and ‘jerk’ - widely associated with hip hop in the U.S.) During my visit to Dallas this past fall, my son David and I stopped for coffee. Our...

Choosing Joy

Choosing Joy

As the season’s first major ice and snowstorm swept across the country this past weekend, our dogs mirrored the concern and exuberance that accompanies such natural events. When I opened the kitchen door to Sunday ‘s early morning ice pellets, Heathcliff stopped in...

Games

Games

I’m having a hard time gearing up for Christmas. After two drafts, our annual Christmas letter remains as dull as a worn-down pencil-point. During Thanksgiving week, I completed the third draft of my book manuscript and, after the intense effort, feel at loose...