Want to leave a legacy?

Make the last third of life the best ever.

Hello, friends. I’m the author of a memoir about growing up Mennonite called Blush: A Mennonite Girl Meets a Glittering World. I was also a college president and professor (Goshen College), and a foundation executive (the Fetzer Institute). You can read more on my about page.

My writing and blogging themes have evolved from memoir to aging joyfully (jubilación). My personal vision statement:

My life is focused on becoming an elder, serving rising elders and future generations, learning from them all that I can about the nature of love.

I post one blog each month. The subjects that fascinate me include grandparenting, wisdom, good writing, creativity, travel, and spirituality. Looking for companionship on all these adventures. Welcome aboard!

Make Your Own Magic!

Most recent blog posts

What Keeps Me Standing: The Wisdom of Black Grandmothers

In the midst of both a pandemic and an anti-racist social justice movement in our country, I find myself, as a white person, a mother, grandmother, and now a caregiver, searching for the wisdom of black grandmothers. I believe black women may be the most resilient people in the world and that their strength gives…

The Washington Monument as seen from under the Museum of African American HistoryThe

The Means of Saving Us: One Good, Sacred, Memory

We live in partisan times in America. Depending on where we stand politically, we see different problems, but everyone seems to agree we have problems. Serious problems. We yearn for peace. Yet peace is not possible without “liberty and justice for all.” Or, to use the framework that John Paul Lederach teaches, derived from Psalm…

Evrething Will Be OK. May 27, 2020. Owen William Showalter, Age 9

In Our Dark Night: Mother Julian’s Words and a Grandson’s Drawing

It’s hard to write tonight. The news is so distressing. George Floyd’s tragic death is the tip of the spear. We should all be coming together to fight the Corona virus — and the other viruses of injustice, racism, and inequality. We need wise leaders. We need change. Will it happen? Despair comes more easily…