Porches don't seem to be as important now as they used to be.
I can easily reminisce about the porches I knew in my childhood the same way I would reminisce about an old friend.
In my early childhood years, Sunday evenings were spent on the porch, watching the cars go by, as our house was right next to the road. Sounds really boring , I know, but it was actually a pleasant family time that was looked forward to every week. (photo by Jimmy Lopes, Dreamstime.)
We had a strawberry patch, and Mom sold strawberries by the side of the road. I sat on the porch waiting for sales!
Later we moved to a house back from the road. I sat on the porch afternoons to eat a popsicle. Then, when dinner was ready, I sat there to wait for my Dad to finish milking the cows and come in the house to eat. And how I loved sitting there during a summer shower, smelling the rain while remaining perfectly dry.
We'd shell peas, shuck corn, and snap green beans, all on our front porch.
I can picture the snow shovel on the porch, leaning against the house, after a snowstorm in the winter. Likewise, I can picture a huge pile of cantaloupes Mom had just gathered from the garden in the summer.
I smelled the marigolds, heard the birds singing, listened to the crickets, and watched the lightening bugs. I heard the screen door banging. All while sitting on the porch.
I read Charlotte's Web while sitting on that porch. And I played "Church" with the farm cats. They were my children, but they rarely behaved very well in church!
What are your memories about your front porch?
