At this time of year, everyone talks about their resolutions, or aspirations. I hear people also wishing for things in ways don’t always achieve the feelings they seek.

This season has been all about shedding and getting rid of, an activity that I’ve traditionally thought of as “spring cleaning”. The key question to ask yourself is, “what am I doing that no longer serves me?”

Fall always brings to my mind fall foliage, back to school, and the story of the pilgrims with the very first Thanksgiving. Fall is traditionally known as a time of harvest, of gathering the bounty for the coming winter.

If you’re a mere babe of 50 or so, you can probably skip this. 60+? You may share my sentiments. I think it’s time to turn off the news now. Too many stories are talking about what was going on forty years ago. How could any of us be forty years older?

I attended the wedding of a dear friend last Sunday on the beach in a state park in New Haven. The reception was held in the other half of a building that housed an old-fashioned carousel. From time to time, the small children would be given rides. Then, at the end of the reception, as a sort of punctuation mark, the bridge and groom climbed on board and waved to us grown-ups to follow.

I wrote this piece during a particularly trying summer with no real vacation. The fortuitous appearance of this porch reminded me of the importance of creating pockets of peace in our lives.