A Porch for All Seasons

Don't tell Bill, but the reason I fell in love with our house is the porch.  It had me at hello!  I walked up to see the house and only saw the porch.

It's a porch made for living.  It's a porch made for family.  It's a porch made for healing.  I knew I needed this porch.
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The pollen has coated everything with a beautiful yellow dust.  Window sills, furniture, the cats....if you're outside, you have pollen.

It's supposed to rain this week.  I want to knit.  I want to knit on a clean porch.

So, that means I need to get the broom....the blower.....and go and just complete this task.

Nike:  Just do it.

Larry the Cable Guy:  Get 'er done.

Uncle Sam:  I want you.   (To come and sit on the porch.)

It's a place to enjoy the rain, the sound of the creek, and the bluebirds.  The newspaper is read out there.  Our morning coffee is enjoyed while rocking and watching the birds.  We check e-mail and my nightly phone conversation with mom is held on the porch.  Sometimes I'm wrapped up in a blanket, but the porch is THE porch.

I spend part of each day on the porch.  Mary Michael likes playing on the porch and I enjoy swinging  with her.

The porch is a work in progress.  AND remember, my former students, it's a process, not a product.
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I've found peace on the porch.  Bill and I sit and visit, laugh at the dogs, entertain the cats, and watch the bluebirds.  I joke about the circle of life....but I can remember Mike with joy when I'm sitting on the porch.  He would have liked it.  I know it.  I just know it.

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So, today I'm praying on the porch.  I would love to see the hate driven from the heart of people. The bombings in Boston have put a knot in my stomach.  Why?  Why would you want to hurt people you don't even know?  We all need to pray.  For kindness, for love, for working together, for understanding.  I heard a news commentator state that people started helping people immediately, they didn't ask if they were Republican or Democrat.  They just helped.

So maybe that's what we're supposed to do with the economy.  Just help.

Maybe that's what we're supposed to do with the schools.  Just help.

Maybe that's how we're supposed to live. Just help.

Dear Lord, I pray for your guidance and love as I learn to "just help."