“From Your Window” by Joan Y. Edwards

What do you see from your window? I’ve been wondering what you see from your window. 

Your window could be in a Victorian Style home. You’d see trees and birds.

Your window could be in a  farm house.  You’d see horses and farm animals, gardens, and lots of sky.

Perhaps you live in a hotel that features great music in their restaurant. You might see the guitar that advertises for them out your window.

If you looked out your window in this tall skyscraper, what would you see?  Perhaps other buildings, some higher and others not quite as tall. If you’re on the top floor you might be too frightened to look out that window.

Perhaps you’re on a ship, looking out a window at the ocean.

As for me when I look out my back window, I see a group of trees that shade the back of our home. In the summer, it is grueling hot there. I appreciate the shade these trees give me.  

When I look out my front window, I can see the Japanese Maple tree that needs trimming.

When I was about 7 years old, outside my second story window, I could see a fence. I heard the cries of what I thought was a baby crying. I started crying. I didn’t understand why no one helped the baby so it wouldn’t cry. I woke my Mother up and asked her. She said, “That wasn’t a baby. Two cats were caterwauling for a mate. She said you can see them. Look out your window.”

I felt so silly. I learned that everything is not as I might believe it is. That I needed to investigate a little more.

When I looked at the window at the motel in New Jersey, I could see across the Hudson River and watch the boats travel there. I visited Ellis Island and wondered what it would have been like for them traveling across the ocean and then taking the ferry boat to Ellis Island in 1901. 

I’d appreciate it if you would share your thoughts as you look out your window. You could also create a character and tell about him or her experience and why it was so important to look out the window.

Here are the words of my readers who shared about views from their windows. I appreciate them giving me permission to put them here. Each person received a critique or an image with their favorite motto on it as a prize for submitting a story.

More than a View
We all have a favorite spot in our house. Mine is a seat on the family-room couch where I recline and gaze out a group of four windows topped by a crescent-shaped pane. It is not the window with the most picturesque view, but one that comforts me with reminders of peace, hope, security, and love.

An aunt told me once that my first home had a feeling of serenity. I thanked her but also questioned why she would make that statement. She went on to say that much of the décor was green which has a calming effect. A home of few arguments, she added. Which was true.

As I look out this window, I am reminded of all the green within my view. Fully grown pine tree tops sway in the gentle breezes and have withstood numerous hurricane winds.  Even though I cannot see it, I know a golf course lies beyond the tall tree line, which prevents our neighborhood from expanding in that direction. This is a bonus for me, as I have been privileged to be a country girl living in wide open spaces before moving here. Between our privacy fence and the tall pines, a canopy of oaks, maples and wild blueberries fill in under the taller trees. No matter how dense this undergrowth, the glowing sunset rays filter through the trees for a spectacular connection with our heavenly realm.   

Blue jays, mockingbirds, cardinals, and occasional squirrels make their homes in the thicket of trees and walk the privacy fence like a balance beam, sometimes resting on top of the utility shed in the corner of our lot before flying to the grass below.

A pool enclosure’s framework protrudes between the window and the fence. Some would say the structure detracts from my view, but I am reminded of the year-round enjoyment the pool provides, from refreshing swims to meals grilled nearby and eaten poolside.

Sometimes, man-made beauty, as well as nature, distract me from the greatest treasure of all. As I recline and look upward, I am reminded of God’s promise of Heaven to those who believe in his son as their personal Lord and savior. I am also reminded that the Lord blessed me with a marriage late in life, after the death of my first husband. Lou and I are committed to placing Christ at the center of our marriage.  Together, we pray, have daily devotions, listen to sermons and Christian music. I am also personally devoting more time to developing a more meaningful relationship with Jesus.  I am reading and studying scripture more than ever. I know my salvation rests safe and secure in the arms of Jesus. I am thankful that God opened my eyes and my view to reflections of today and to the promise of eternity with Him.
…..Linda A. Gutheil

I always look out my window, especially when spring arrives. I get to see the leaves grow. Wind blows, sunshine. I like seeing the seasons change.
…..Billy Kwack

For several years I have positioned my writing desk by a window. Right now I’m there and see the street, people walking by (although it’s pretty hot and not too many people are venturing out) and the house across the street with their newly planted oak tree dying in the heat. I hear kids playing down the street. No smells though!
…..Carol Baldwin

When we were looking for our new house, I told my husband I didn’t want another cookie-cutter house surrounded by other houses. Our house was a fishbowl. The neighbors houses all had windows looking directly into our windows and our backyard. I didn’t need anything fancy; I didn’t want anything big. I wanted a more unique house without so many houses close by, and perhaps on a bit of a hill.

So we started looking online at houses for sale, and my husband found this incredible Victorian style house with only a few houses nearby, and it had an amazing view of the city of Camarillo from the deck. We could also see the ocean in the distance on clear days, and we got to enjoy beautiful, nightly sunsets. I couldn’t believe it! I told him I only wanted a little bit of a view and a house that wasn’t exactly like all the others. But, as usual, he overdid it. (He has this tendency to overdo everything.) Of course, this time I loved how much he overdid it. 🙂
…..Shawn Simon

My Magic Window
No one else can see the window that’s there for me, but they can look through it, thanks to my pecking fingers and my computer. My window has shown me what happened in 700 BC, and 1500 years into the future. Through it, I have seen the life of my mother long before I was born, the life of delightful three-legged, green little people on a faraway planet, and the terrible events in Ireland in 1798. I watched in horror as a 14-year-old boy killed 6 little kids and a woman, and then watched with admiration as an old lady reformed him. Hundreds of other views have appeared in my window, and you can share them with me in my writing.
…..Bob Rich

From My Windows
The favorite thing I see from my windows are the kids in the neighborhood growing up to be healthy, active one-day-adults. I love to watch the kids grow up.
…..Pam Bryson

Everyone who submits a 100-500 words “From My Window” as a comment before midnight July 31, 2020 will receive a prize of a free critique of 1000 words of one of your manuscripts or an image with your favorite motto on it and your website to use as an ad for you.  Please give permission in your comment: “I give you permission to use my writing in this blog post.”

When you give me permission, I’ll revise this post and put your “From My Window” submission right here on my blog with your name. Thank you.

I hope you’ll join the fun!

Do something fun for you!
Never Give Up
Joan Y. Edwards, Author
Copyright © 2009-2020 Joan Y. Edwards

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