Skip to content

Julie Barton

Writer, Teacher, Speaker

Home
Blog
Videos
Appearances
Press
Classes
About
Contact

Listening

My little old soul of a dog, sitting in the sun, listening. What wisdom.

Like this:

Like Loading...

Post navigation

Blank Canvas

Childhood

Like Dog Medicine on Facebook

Like Dog Medicine on Facebook

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Instagram

From the bathtub 🛀

The news lately has been so hideous that I feel compelled to share a story about my grandfather, my father's father, that may help soothe your soul. His name was Walter Eugene Hill, and he was born in 1903. By age 9, his mother, who had a cruel streak, kicked him out of the house. He slept in the streets. He begged for food. He delivered newspapers with holes in his shoes during the Illinois winter. He was hungry, dirty, tired, and angry as hell. He grew to be big and mean and violent. Around his late teens, something made him decide that love and kindness trumped hate and violence. By his early 20s, he saved enough money to open a shoe repair shop in Canton, Illinois. In 1928, he married a woman named Evelyn, a book lover with a kind heart and a gentle smile. They lived in the studio apartment above the shoe repair shop with one roommate: his mother. In her final years, she needed him, and he helped her. In December of 1944, his mother died. In May of 1945, my father was born. Thomas Walter Hill is their only child and greatest joy of my grandparents’ lives. They taught him the power of hard work and a deep and abiding love for music. My grandfather sang opera; my father plays classical piano. My grandmother died in 1969, my grandfather in 1978. I share this with you because I’m writing a really challenging book (aren’t they all challenging to write?), and I am channeling everything that helps me think clearly. Grandpa Hill is first on that list, because in the face of intense hardship, he chose love: love of self and love of others. Last night, I dreamt of my grandfather for the first time. He was standing with a slide projector, shining light through small slides, showing me pictures of buildings. He was talking about their architecture. After waking up, I googled and learned that dreaming of architecture means you’re building something based on planning and strong foundation. Later, I went into my basement looking for something, and the first thing I saw was this photo of my grandfather standing at a podium speaking. I know he’s with me, helping me along, helping me choose love over hate, peace over violence, hope over despair. #amwriting

Not cool, Time. Not cool.

Happy 18th birthday to my amazing nephew Spencer! @spencerhilll 🎂

Best writing partner ever. Thanks to everyone who has been watching and commenting on my stories. This has been a fun way to keep getting my butt in the chair. Thank you, friends. 🙏 #amwriting

Snorkeling in a nutshell 🤣

North Shore, Hawaii. Sunset at 7:15PM and moonset at 5:30AM #soundon🔊

They did it!!! Congratulations Laura and Joe. We love you both so much! @laur4b @awwjose

This little peanut, who always gets the drumstick at Thanksgiving and Christmas, is getting married today! She’s my sister-in-law, and she was the flower girl at our wedding in 2000. We will so miss having her dad with us to walk her down the aisle since he died last spring. But Greg is honored to walk arm in arm with his baby sister today as she promises her love to a really great guy. Congratulations on taking this leap of faith, Laura and Joe! We love you and can’t wait to celebrate! @laur4b @awwjose

Follow Julie on Twitter

My Tweets

Recent Blog Posts

A Winter Solstice Poem December 21, 2017
Good News & a Howling Bunker May 15, 2017
Order a personalized copy of Dog Medicine for the holidays! December 14, 2016
Great News August 17, 2016
Launch Day, Full Moon July 19, 2016
The Story of the Dog Medicine Audio Book July 18, 2016
News & Gratitude March 23, 2016
Thank you Cheryl Strayed! November 11, 2015
Launch Party Photos November 11, 2015
BlogTalk Radio! November 9, 2015

Blog at WordPress.com.

Post to

Cancel

%d bloggers like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Related

Leave a Reply Cancel reply