FRONT PORCH

Front porch

I moved into a new house last summer. I fell in love with the house immediately, primarily because of the front porch. I absolutely love sitting on a front porch and reading, enjoying the sounds of being outdoors, and enjoying whatever weather we're having. My new house seemed to have the perfect front porch for that. Plus, the best part was that my new front porch was large enough to not only put some lounging outdoor furniture but a table and chairs as well. I was in heaven.

Once we moved in, I discovered that the sounds of the outdoors only seemed to come from all of my neighbors. Their conversations were always loud, they'd yell back and forth from their own front porches and kids were constantly outside playing. Sitting out on my front porch was not as enjoyable as I had thought it would be. The gentleman who lives across from me thinks that anytime we are out on our front porch, it is an invitation to come over and talk forever. He never has anything important to say, but apparently he is just bored with life. Even if I have my nose buried in a book and act like I could care less about what he's saying, he doesn't get the hint. He'll waddle over to our front porch and make himself comfortable. It drives me crazy. I avoided my front porch for months because I was so annoyed with the situation.

Finally, I realized that it was pathetic. I bought my house to enjoy, not to lock myself inside. I needed to figure out a way to be out on my front porch and be less noticeable. After a few weeks of debate, I decided to get those sun shades that you can pull up or put down. I figured that if they were down when I was outside, it would block the neighbor's view of my front porch and maybe help me to drown out some of the noise. I installed them immediately. That evening, I decided to attempt my new strategy. I pulled the shades down as far as they could go. Then, I snuggled down into my lounge chair and began to read. I managed to read for almost a half hour before my neighbor popped his head behind the shades. I almost threw my book at him. He asked about the shades and I honestly told him it was so that I could have more privacy when out on my front porch and not be disturbed so often. He seemed to ponder that for a moment and then left. I smiled. Maybe my front porch would be what I had hoped it would be,
afterall.