Front Porch Sitting

Growing up in the South I knew one thing for sure.  People loved to sit on the porch.  If you lived in a house
that was in a neighborhood with sidewalks the front porch is where you socialized and caught up on the neighborhood news.  If you were sitting on the porch you could wave to passerbys and sometimes they would stop their walk and wander up to sit and talk for awhile.  If you were a good Southern lady you offered them sweet iced tea or lemonade.   

Now if you lived in the country, then you sat on the porch to watch the kids as they played in yard or rode their bikes up and down the dirt road.  The neighbors had to drive over instead of walking by, but the porch was still the meeting place.

My grandmother had a front porch that to me was enormous, but looking back I think that was just my view of it.  We would sit together and swing or rock while she would string beans or shell peas.  Sometimes she would let me help her.  Many a hour was spent with her sitting on the porch watching as my brother and I along with the neighborhood children would "entertain" her with our shows.  The front walkway was our stage and she was our audience of one.  She would cheer us on and clap after our performances.  Oh the pain of remembering how terrible we must have been!

It made me sad when she sold that house.  My family moved and she moved with us.  Of course our new house had a porch!  My mom and dad had beautiful wooden rockers on that porch.  As I got older and my friends would stop by they would sit with my mom and me and rock.  We would talk about all the things that was so important in our lives at that time.  Clothes, school, music, football games, and of course boys.  Mama would make snacks and we would share them while we sat on that porch.

They moved from that house many years ago - took the great rockers with them to the new home they built and they are on that porch to this day.  

My house was built almost 26 years ago and one of the things I made sure of was that it had a front porch.  We live on 5 acres so I don't have people walking by to wave to.  But, I have spent many happy hours sitting on that porch.  My son grew up in this house and he and his friends would ride go-carts and bicycles up and down our driveway and street and from the porch I could watch them.  I sat with my dog on that porch.  She would enjoy the first warm days of spring and lay on the porch in the sun and nap while I sat in the swing and each year I thanked God that she was still with us.  I miss her.  

My porch has welcomed friends and family for birthday parties, dinners, 
celebrations, and holidays.  I love it when it is time to drape my porch railing with greenery for Christmas.  
It is fun to put the big orange pumpkins on the steps and fill the pots with mums each autumn.  When the cold days of winter are gone and I can put my plants on the porch it means the wonderful warm days and evenings of porch sitting are here!

I still love my porch after all these years. If you have a porch go outside and sit.  Take your coffee or tea outside and read a book, or watch your children play, or just relax and enjoy it.  The world won't stop if you take time to just be for awhile.  In fact it would be a better place if there were more porches!