Generations ago, houses had large porches. Families and friends gathered there, to talk, to gossip, to connect. Houses today typically have small porches. The porch of our house is hardly more than a few steps. Still, I enjoy sitting there, snatching a few moments here and there to simply be.
When our children were young, my husband and I sat on the front porch watching our children as they rode bikes, played ball, skated down the driveway. We waved to neighbors and caught up with each other's lives.
We continue the practice today, but it is our kitty whom we watch play. Since she is declawed, we can't let her be outside on her own so we take her out for playtime. We smile as she stalks through the grass to find a bug or chase a dandelion puff. (I can see you rolling your eyes and thinking, "You take your cat out for playtime?" Yes. What can I say? We're absolutely silly over that little creature.)
I wave to a neighbor as he walks his dog, and we laugh over our devotion to our pets. I watch the play of leaves in the breeze and eagerly look for any sign that the tulips and daffodils might start to poke their way through the winter-hardened dirt.
Porches, large or small, are still places to connect. To nature. To people. To ourselves.
Porches serve another purpose as well. During the holidays, porches make convenient places to leave surprises. One grim year, when my husband's fledgingly business was struggling and we were exisiting on a spotty food storage and love, we found a box of goodies on our porch early one morning. Inside were a turkey and all the fixings for a special dinner, including homemamde bread and pies. Our family has made similar use of porches, leaving anonymous treats there.
So, for today, I am grateful for porches.
I love my front porch almost as much as the wooden swing in my grape arbor. There's something incredibly soothing and satisfying about simply sitting.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the reminder to slow down.
This is an interesting thought, Jane. Have our porches and lawns gotten smaller while our houses themselves gotten bigger because we are, collectively, withdrawing into ourselves? It's hard for me to know. We had a large porch on our house when I was growing up, but we never sat on it. I remember thinking as I got older that it looked like a waste of space to me. And it was, because we weren't using it. I suppose it just never occurred to my introverted parents or their introverted daughter to use it.
ReplyDeleteI never knew to be grateful for porches before. What else have I been missing?
Jane,
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for taking us down memory lane via gratitude for porches. So many wonderful memories on Grandmother, Mama's, porch with swings, rockers, flowers, lots of sharing and hugs. Have a wonderful, gratitude filled week!