Front Porch Sitting ~ Something Of A Lost Art?

There is something to be said about a good front porch. Even better, a Southern front porch. You know the kind I'm talking about; the ones large and long enough to have rocking chairs, a front porch swing, and of course a ceiling fan. Two of the houses of my youth had a porch big enough for a porch swing; and how I recall the memories of sitting on the porches and enjoying fresh sweet summer watermelon, and also, swinging with my Dad as we would watch the rain clouds roll in. My Dad's mother had two houses at different times, one porch being on the front, and later in a newer one, a porch on the back that ran the width of the house; the latter was good for shelling peas fresh from the farmers market, watching as my grandparents would make homemade ice cream, and sitting and listening to family and friends visiting and reminiscing of days gone by.

During evenings in the South you might still be lucky enough to often find people "porch sitting, or porch sittin' " as we say. Sadly though, I believe it is becoming a lost art. Way back when, people enjoyed sitting on their front porches in the cool of the evenings; it has often been said that the porches were extensions of the "front room" or living room, and it was also a way of escaping the heat, as many homes didn't have air conditioning.

The sound of laughter, good conversation, exclamations of "hello neighbor" or good evening" could be heard from one porch to another, or from those taking an evening stroll. It was a way of keeping up with your neighbors, hearing the latest gossip, taking time to enjoy the early evening hours in all of its quiet magic.

Yes.......I believe there is something to be said about a Southern front porch, and "front porch sittin' ". With their beautifully displayed ferns or other fragrant flowers in hanging baskets, to rockers and swings which have established unique creaks of their own over time, a front porch gathers the family around, welcome neighbors from far near and far, and causes us to stop, listen, and be in the moment.

In our crazy hurried world these days, I think we all could use a Southern front porch.

~K~