Porches

When we moved here about 15 years ago, I had two requirements for the new house- 2 bathrooms and a front porch. There are things I would have liked, but the only necessities were the bathrooms and porch. I think the whole world would become a nicer place if everyone committed to sitting on their front porch at least a few hours a week.

Our homes these days are barricades- few front porches are even available to sit on. We never see our neighbors walk by except in fleeting, rushing moments with our hands full of groceries or garbage. But if you look at photos of neighborhoods from long ago, everyone had a front porch. People used to rock on the porch swing, and chat with their neighbors. The neighborhood was a real community, not just a collection of hermitages.

There are other ways to promote community, but for me, the front porch is perfect. It is not forced gaiety, like a party. Am I the only one that goes home from parties with aching smile muscles? Interaction feels more natural for me from a front porch. For reclusive sorts like myself, if the need arises and a neighbor has overstayed his welcome on the porch, there is always the excuse of "something is burning on the stove" and a convenient getaway. And this is rarely not true in my home, something probably is burning or about to be burnt on the stove.

If you are truly blessed, your front porch will be surrounded by flowering bushes that attract hummingbirds. This has a double fold blessing. First, who could not be awed by the magic of hummingbirds? Secondly, if need be, those bushes can hide you from people when all you can handle at the moment is wings beating at a thousand beats per second with no human voice shattering the cadence.

Honestly, I think the health care money would be put to much better use if instead of requiring health insurance, the bill required front porches. I think blood pressure would drop, lonely hearts would find communion, and the drastic paucity of Vitamin D in most people would be quickly healed by the gentle rays of sun streaming over the porch sitters.

Today we are supposed to have 70 degree sunshine. The dogwood and Bradford pear are in bloom, and my daffodils are tipping yellow and white bonnets to a perfect Carolina blue sky. It is a day when my book and I will rock on the front porch and dream about a kind and gentle world.

Isaiah 34:16
....and his Spirit will gather them together.