Exploring the Third Season of Life

Notes from Vanaprastha

Reflections on Faith, Nature, and Writing

Recent Posts

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...

Decisions, Decisions

Decisions, Decisions

It was mid-January here at Vanaprastha when I watched the video. The temperature was moderate for a winter day. But the extended forecast called for snow, and comfort food was on my mind. “Hi, I’m Nica Waters, and welcome to Tasty Thursday.” That day, Nica showed...

Weeding

Weeding

At dawn this morning, before the heat of the day, I headed into the meadow in front of our house here at Vanaprastha. I wrote about the challenges of this meadow and ‘native plants’ in a post last spring. Ten days ago, the landscapers completed the installation....

Character

Character

Parents, teachers, and students gathered in the high school auditorium that Wednesday afternoon, May 14, 1969, for the annual National Honor Society induction ceremony. I’d been inducted as a junior the year before but otherwise didn’t have a clue why I was asked...

Point of View

Point of View

A wealthy landlord, Ximen Nao, is shot and killed by one of his fellow villagers as part of land reform after the Communist takeover in China. Ximen Nao sees himself as an honest, hard-working man, a good son, devoted father, a loving spouse to his wife and two...