Exploring the Third Season of Life

Notes from Vanaprastha

Reflections on Faith, Nature, and Writing

Recent Posts

Eat

Eat

Over Labor Day weekend, I met my daughter in New York City—she was in town on business. We ate new foods at restaurants, soaked up inspiration at two art museums, and watched a love-themed show on Broadway. It was an "Eat, Pray, Love" experience, which I’ll explore...

Train Ride

Train Ride

Early Friday morning, I boarded the Amtrak train heading to New York City for a Labor Day weekend visit with my daughter. The train was running an hour late; the trip would be longer. As soon as I found my seat, number 53 by the window, I settled in, ready to make...

On Sixty-Five

On Sixty-Five

Early yesterday morning, as I sipped my coffee laced with milk and watched the dawn creep across the Rockfish Valley, I received a birthday present from Richard Rohr. “When you sit quietly and for extended times in nature, you see that everything changes,” he wrote...

Anticipation

Anticipation

“You must be excited about your trip to Scotland,” a friend said to me last week. “To tell you the truth, I haven’t thought about it much,” I said, “which is strange because I’ve been wanting to go for years.” Anticipation. The story goes that Carly Simon wrote her...

Trespassing

Trespassing

Last Saturday night, I dreamed that my writing class was holding a retreat at my childhood home. We sat around the living room of a house that no longer belonged to my family. Yet the mustiness of Connecticut’s summer humidity scented the room along with lingering...

Interruptions

Interruptions

The garage door opened to blazing sunshine and blasts of hot air. Cicadas sang in crackles and pops. Even Heathcliff and Freya weren’t in any hurry to greet our visitor. Dog days. “Thank you SO much for coming,” I said to Danny Kennedy who installed and services...