Refreshed. That’s how I feel after spending time at what I like to call my cottage. It’s actually just a small house in a neighborhood that’s about 15 minutes from the beach. It reminds me of the first home Eddie and I owned in the town of Edenton. It too was near the water, the Albemarle Sound, and I loved that little house.

The house originally belonged to my youngest son. He bought it when he first got out of college and needed a place to live near the high school where he would be teaching in the small coastal town of Southport. When he needed extra space for his growing family, Eddie and I bought it as our getaway place and as a plus, we could visit more with his family. I have since renamed it “The Cottage”.

When I drive into the driveway it’s like I leave my real life behind and focus more on simplicity.  We only have the things we need here. It’s sparsely decorated with older furniture and the upkeep is minimal. Don’t misunderstand me, I love my fulltime home and it is a beautiful place but here I seem to be able to let go of my worries. It’s quiet and I focus more on my writing because there’s no TV! I find comfort when I spend a day at the beach. I talk more to God and listen to Him more.

I love being able to share this cottage with my family. It gives them a place to refresh as well. That brings me joy. I know I am blessed to be able to have “The Cottage” for this season in my life. I hope you can find a place even if it’s in your own backyard that you can go to and let go of what troubles you for a while. I pray that you come home refreshed.

Blessings, Cindy J

In January of 2021, a sweet baby boy came into our lives. He is my grandson Phillip Henry, named for two of his great grandpas. As with both of my other grandchildren, two very special little girls, the love was instantaneous and what a gift they have been in my life. Phillip is a happy, affectionate little boy who is full of personality and loves to laugh.  This baby boy wants for nothing and has been showered with gifts from the moment he was born. He has a crib to sleep in and many beautiful handmade blankets to wrap up in for warmth.

On a cold December night over 2,000 years ago, another sweet baby boy was born. His parents had no place to stay because all the rooms in the inn were full. There wasn’t even a crib to place the newborn baby in, only a simple manger. No blankets either, only cloth to swaddle him in. However, the baby was celebrated just like our Phillip and continues to be celebrated to this very day. Angels sang to announce his birth to shepherds who immediately went to see the Christ child.  Wise men came from afar to bring him expensive gifts. His name was Jesus and his Mama pondered all these happenings in her heart.

Baby Jesus was a gift that changed the world just like Walker, Margot and Phillip changed my world by filling it with more love than I could ever imagine. As we begin this new year, let us not forget to celebrate the birth of this sweet baby boy; the gift God gave us of eternal life through his one and only Son Jesus. We are truly blessed.

Blessings, Cindy J

Lately I haven’t felt a lot like writing. I enjoy it and it provides an outlet for me to express my feelings but it just seems difficult. There are many times we all feel like that in life. We have things we love to do but just can’t seem to find the energy to complete the action. That’s when it is the most important to press on!

As we enter this season of Thanksgiving, it’s important to be thankful for the gifts and blessings God has given each of us.  My writing serves an important purpose for me but also for those who read my words. So, I press on and keep writing. Thank you for allowing me to share my thoughts with you through this blog.

Blessings, Cindy J

Longevity reigns supreme in the Jennings’ family when it comes to pets. We just recently lost our sweet Maggie girl, a golden retriever, after 14 ½ years of unconditional love on her part. It seems all of our animals tend to stick around for a while once we bring them home. The first pet I ever remember having as a child was a little cocker spaniel named Brownie. I can’t remember how long we had her but I do have a picture of me as a little girl with my arm around her neck, a look of contentment on both our faces. Then there was my favorite cat growing up; a big yellow tabby whose name was Yellow.  He met his demise in the engine of my Mama’s car and since he was an old cat, didn’t survive the trauma of the accident.

Fast forward to marriage and children which brought us our Beetle or Bea girl as I called her. She was just a little ball of black fur when we told our neighbor we would take one of the mixed breed puppies they found themselves “surprised” with. She was Ryan’s dog and loved and protected him for 15 years. Every day she would walk the property lines around our house to investigate and make sure everything was okay. We lost her when Ryan was in college and I vowed we would never get another dog because it was just too hard to make the decision to put her to sleep.

Nike and Bear were the kittens of Lucky, a stray we rescued after we saw her take a tumble out from under a truck on a busy highway. Her girls, sisters, lived to be 19 years old. They were always outside cats and we never had a mouse or creature ever enter our house. Those girls were fierce hunters and always on patrol.

That brings us back to Maggie. When my youngest son Sam left for college, I knew this empty nester needed someone to care for so, sweet Maggie came into our lives. I don’t think I’ve ever known a smarter, more loving dog. Losing her has been difficult. 

Life is full of love and loss. Letting go is so very hard but not having had the chance to love is even harder. Pets teach us a lot of life lessons about loving and letting go. So, love people, life, pets, etc. as much as you can while you can. Then be prepared that inevitably, we all have to let go.

Blessings, Cindy J

My husband and I had been talking about going to Alaska since I retired four years ago. Every summer we’d find some reason not to go. So in January of 2020 I finally told him, “let’s just go” and I paid the deposit. Of course, we all know what happened; COVID hit and again our trip was postponed. Just last month in August 2021, we were finally able to take that trip. All I can say is that it was truly amazing and more beautiful than pictures can ever show. It made us realize that now is the time to travel and go to all the places we’ve talked about. We both are currently healthy enough to do things and walk with relative ease. There’s no reason to put it off any longer. Several times during our trip my husband said, “I’m so glad you talked me into this.”

We convince ourselves that we’ll go see that friend or family member we’ve wanted to visit another day or we’ll wait until things slow down before we take time off for a vacation. My advice to you is go ahead and do it! Not one of us knows what the future holds but I live with the possibility that one day my cancer may return. It truly makes me cherish the here and now. I want to spend as much time as I can with the people I love. I want to visit more of the beautiful cities in the USA and when it’s safe, I still want to go to Italy and Greece with my girlfriends.

Today I leave you with a simple question…what’s stopping you? Just go!

Blessings, Cindy J

For all you fans of theater and the show Hamilton, no this is not a tribute to Lin-Manuel Miranda’s song but he does bring up a good point.  Even Dr. Seuss said you need to see sights and pay attention. To do that you have to do more than just look straight ahead; you must look around. If we always look straight ahead, we miss so many things.

When I’m at the beach, if I don’t look up, I miss the beautiful clouds and the bluest sky; not to mention the sunrise and sunsets. If I don’t look down, I’ll miss all the intricacies of the seashells at my feet. Not looking to the side would cause me to miss the waves as they break on the beach or a pod of dolphins swimming by. And what about the people? Families having fun, friends sharing conversations and people like me just taking some time to relax and read a good book. They always bring a smile to my face.

As we go through life, so much of the time we have on blinders and only see the things in front of us that pertain to our world. Guess what? Other people and things are out there and they have a lot to offer you. So my friends, LOOK AROUND! This world really is a beautiful place.

Blessings, Cindy J

These days in our computer driven world, we need passwords for everything we do. There’s a password to sign into the computer. Then there’s one for every place you shop online. Of course, your email has a password and if you work from home, your work database has a password. There are generally rules about passwords like it has to be so many characters, include numbers and symbols, etc. Then just when you think you’ve got it all written down and figured out, somebody asks you to change your password. Oh, and it can’t be anything you’ve used before. Yikes!

If you’ve had any medical issues and you need to contact your doctor or look up test results, most physicians now have online portals where all your information is stored. It can be very helpful at times but frustrating at others when you just need to ask one simple question. It’s also a little unnerving to think that so many people have access to my personal health information in those databases.

What a blessing that there is one “safe and secure” place that will only require one password; ever. It’s God’s kingdom with the promise of eternal life in heaven. The password…JESUS. Always has been, always will be.

Blessings, Cindy J

Truth be told, everyone could benefit from a little therapy every now and then. Just sitting down with someone who doesn’t know you to talk through difficult issues can be very freeing. If you’ve never done that, I encourage you to share your hurts with a professional who can help you work through those feelings. As a cancer survivor, I found it helpful to talk with someone about my fears. There are also support groups for many different types of situations and tragedies people face. It’s comforting to be around people who won’t judge.

That being said, there are other forms of therapy as well. For me, it is spending time at the ocean. I’m not sure if this is a poem or just a collection of thoughts but either way it does help explain why I believe so strongly in the healing power of the ocean. My prayer is that you will find some place or something that works for you.

The Ocean

by Cindy Jennings

Waves breaking on the shore like the sound of thunder

Foamy white caps spreading out into sheets of glass on the beach

Footprints being washed away with each ebb and flow

Water and sky that has no end

Peace and turmoil mingled together

Warmth and strength from the heat of the sun

Teeming with unseen life

Peaceful treasure for my soul

The ocean.

Let’s face it; we’ve all been there at the bottom of the well. Something or someone in our life has pushed us down. We’re broken and in despair. As we sit there, many times the only thing we can see is what’s at the bottom and we focus on the circumstance that put us there. We fail to notice that people are at the top, looking down and trying to figure out how to get us out. We don’t see the footholds placed along the side of the well that would give us a way to climb out. All we want to do is sit and muddle in our dilemma.

Many people facing a cancer diagnosis feel like they’ve been pushed down a well. There just seem to be an endless amount of negatives all pounding down on you at one time. It’s easy to sit there huddled up, thinking there is no way out.  I imagine that people who have faced COVID-19 felt this same way.

When we finally do look up, we can see the light. We see the people; we hear them talking. We notice they’ve thrown us a rope ladder to hang on to and all we have to do is climb. The next step is ours and ours alone. Stay at the bottom as long as you need to, then look up and start the process of climbing. Better yet, reach upward and hang onto someone’s hand for support.

Blessings, Cindy J

God has given different gifts to each of us and He desires for us to use them for good. Our challenge is to accept the gift, use it wisely and show God’s love as we share that gift. I think my gift is words. I’ve written before about how much I love words but viewing that love for words as a gift gives me a greater sense of responsibility.  Somehow when I put words down on paper, they all just seem to come together. I can use those words to uplift others or I can ignore my gift and keep my words to myself.

I enjoy this gift and it makes me feel useful when I’m able to share the right words with someone just at the time they need them. I wish I could remember some of the words I hear in my head when I’m doing other things. Then I’d really be in business! For now, I’ll keep writing my blog and sending out my cards all the while being thankful for the gift God has given me. What’s your gift? Today I encourage you to use that gift for good. Someone is waiting for YOU and the encouragement only YOU can bring.

Blessings, Cindy J