J. Robin Whitley's Blog, page 16

Extraordinary Days

The first time the word “extraordinary” came up on an elementary spelling list, my beginning pronunciation was “extra-ordinary.” The English teacher promptly corrected me as I spoke the word aloud. In discussing the word’s meaning, I practiced saying it correctly. … Continue reading →

Elements

The morning sky was gray when it was time to take the dogs out. A sound like pouring rain greeted us as we opened the back door. As I stopped to consider retrieving the raincoats (mine and the chiweenie’s), I … Continue reading →

October in Western North Carolina

Today is a peaceful, quiet day for me today. There seemed to be no way to summarize all the feelings and scenes around me. As I prepared to write, I decided to listen to a local podcast called Stories of … Continue reading →

Mercies in a Jar

Growing up Christian in the rural South, we often heard the word “discipline” used when the word was not associated with “practice,” but meant “punishment” instead. Because I wanted to be a good person, as well as a good Christian, … Continue reading →

Mercy

I’ve been working on a post about mercy…yet know so little about how to be merciful to myself, it’s still not written. Instead, I share a poem with you today that touched me deeply today. The poem was read at … Continue reading →

Random Thoughts

Random thoughts shuffle through my mind, music from a library of cherished memories. As I filled up a mustard bottle at lunch, I was suddenly warmed with the memory of working at Bill’s House of Seafood in Millingport, NC. I … Continue reading →

Sun Rising Quickly

The morning was dark when it was time to walk the dog this morning. I tromped upstairs to get the charged flashlight so my fast driving neighbor would see me and the black dog. By the time I got back … Continue reading →

Itsy Bitsy Spider

Small spiders have been showing up in our house. Guess it’s too wet for them outside too. Most of the time, I like to take small spiders outside. Lately, it seems cruel to drown them. As one decided to take … Continue reading →

Song of the Morning

Each morning the song we awaken to is one of our neighboring birds celebrating the morning. We sit in quiet companionship (except for the chiweenie who wants to play ball) till time for work. This morning was cloudy and overcast. The clouds had sunk into the trees, hid the mountains. Continue reading →

Living in a Rain Forest

“Green was the silence, wet was the light,
the month of June trembled like a butterfly.”
~Pablo Neruda, 100 Love Sonnets Continue reading →