Perfect Porch

I love my front porch. It's deeper than most and is as long as our house is wide. There is a little space to the right as you come out the door--just enough room for a  bench big enough to hold 2 or 3 kids waiting for a bus or for company to come down the street. To the right is the big space. The space big enough for 2 rocking chairs and one adirondack chair and 2 small tables with plenty of room left over.

Youngest has enlisted Grandpa's help in attracting hummingbirds, and this year's new feeder hangs near the far end of the porch. There is often a ball next to the bench by the front door, and the bench itself tends to collect leftovers from long, full summer days--picnic blankets, a stray book, someone's skateboard.

When they were smaller, Oldest, Middle and Youngest used to play on the porch. Rainy days were best, because we stayed dry while surrounded by the rain, playing happily with little cars, sidewalk chalk and bubbles. We stayed cool in the shade when the sun was hot, and the rocking chairs were the perfect spot to keep watch as they climbed the front yard tree or rode bikes and scooters up and down the sidewalk. I still watch as they hang out with friends up and down the street, and sometimes catch a handful of kids lounging on the porch or hear quiet chatter from a pair rocking and planning the rest of their day.

My parents like to sit on my porch when they visit. Dad takes his coffee out and sits and rocks and listens and watches. Even though we're in town, there is almost always birdsong. It's a good spot to keep track of the coming and going and in and out at our house, and it's nice to pull into my driveway and see my parents and kids on the porch relaxing and waiting for me and Husband to get home.

I also love to spend time on the porch. My favorite times are when it's warm enough to sit for a long time without getting chilly and before the late-day sun sinks far enough to shine directly into my westward-facing eyes. Like my dad, I love to take my coffee out in the mornings and sit and listen and watch. Like my mom, I almost always take along a book, and sometimes I take along some writing I'm working on. Our porch is just right for lunch outside and popsicles or ice cream cones. The first time we looked at this house, I fell in love with the porch and it hasn't disappointed. I knew when we bought the house that I needed the rocking chairs. I spent a couple of summers waiting until I found the adirondack chair that fit me well and matched the rest.

Now the chairs call me to come sit and rock or sit back and hold still. Now I have places for people and places for coffee cups and glasses of lemonade and long summer hours to enjoy it all.
Now it's simply perfect.