Porches

March 2, 2007 - The wind is howling outside....Indiana spring is around the corner. I am SO ready for warmer, sunny weather. I am excited that this year I might be able to spend some "leisure" time outside enjoying the sun and the breeze. My dream house has a big 'ole porch that is about 10 feet deep...plenty of room for a few rocking chairs, a wicker loveseat set and maybe a porch swing. I love to sit on a porch...something that is missing on almost every house built after 1930 it seems. I love our subdivision, but everyone works all day and when they get home they're too busy working at home to just "set a spell". Now, I realize I sound like a grandma Moses here, but I've longed for the front porch moments for as long as I've lived away from my parent's home. Especially with hyperactive autistic kids, the serenity of a porch just sounds that much more appealing.
Years ago, when Christopher was 2 and I was a full-time student at Ball State, we lived on a house on West 5th Street in Anderson. Now, those of you who know Anderson know that this is by far not the WORST part of town, but it is far from the best. But the wonderful thing there (besides having the world's greatest landlord, Tim Basey) was that the house had character. The house was built in the 30's or 40's and had a front porch...not the porch of my "dream house" but a nice-sized deep porch. We put a gate up at the top of the stairs to the porch and Christopher (who didn't walk until after he was 2) could crawl around in relative safety while we sat, had a glass of tea or just watched the world go by. It was nice....relaxing and some of the best memories I have of that house were of that porch. Unfortunately, the area surrounding the house wasn't the greatest, and within less than a year there had been several serious crimes committed within a few blocks. The final straw was when Amy stepped out the front door with Christopher to find the police, guns drawn, making a felony arrest right in front of the house....instructing her to "go back inside...NOW!". Time to move and, well, let's just say that the move (to Muncie, so I'd be closer to school and have more time with the kids) wasn't a move "up" in terms of housing. But I remember the porch on 5th Street. And when I think of spring, I think of sitting on a porch with the birds chirping and the breeze blowing... only this time in my imagination I am in a motorized wheelchair. I can't sit in the porch swing or rocker. But I can still take in the sights, sounds and scents of spring. I hope that by the time I'm in that wheelchair full-time, I have a porch like that to retreat to.
I am so grateful that I now have time to stop and look forward to spending time doing those things I didn't have time for when I was working 2 or 3 jobs just to make ends meet. I have so much to be thankful for!! Much love, Claudia