Porch-sittin’ in place
Two months ago, when the pandemic clipped our wings and we began sheltering-in-place, home was no longer just a place to sleep, eat, and sofa surf. It was now also wrapped up in the stress of work, school and other responsibilities. Uncertain circumstances drove people with idle hands around the world to Marie Kondo their spaces. We joined them.
Among a slew of other quarantine projects we tackled, my husband has reorganized the garage at least four times since March. His workbench and parking space is now a man cave/beer and winemaking space. We spent a few Saturdays in the garage while he tinkered, and I read. Concurrently, we noticed that our admittedly imperfect but perfectly acceptable and rarely used front porch chairs were no longer something that brought us joy (or comfort). We had been spending more time on the front porch during quarantine than we ever had before, and we wanted it to be a comfortable retreat.
We took to the internet and ordered a loveseat, coffee table, and chair. While we waited for their arrival, my husband built and painted an entryway gate to replace the makeshift gate we used to keep our dogs from running away while porch-sitting with us. (Fun fact: we made the makeshift gate from the sides of my [ancient] baby crib, but they were getting battered and shaky.)
Because my husband never does anything halfway, he added latches to the bottom of the new gate which fasten into the concrete holes that he drilled into the porch. The dogs aren’t getting out, but all those Amazon Prime deliveries aren’t getting in either!
Like I said, my husband goes all-in on projects, and I love how handy he is. He couldn’t paint the gate without also painting the rest of the porch (or maybe he was just bored). It really did turn out well. Our furniture arrived. I painted a new front doormat. We added a rug and a few tchotchkes. The front porch, which had become our escape during quarantine, was completely remodeled (save for the shrubs that need to be replaced when the weather is right).
Since the transformation, we spend hours with the dogs on the front porch watching the world go by. We see neighbors and their dogs walk by, complain about the cars that drive down our street too fast, play Scrabble, talk about important things, joke about not-so-important things, and sit in silence while enjoying each other’s company.
One evening, I turned on the ocean waves sound from my white noise app as a joke, but we let it play for a little while. Our new retreat has brought calm and playfulness amid the stress and chaos. The renovated porch has become a place to press pause on this weird time, the busyness of life — and to nurture ourselves as we look inward and find comfort, peace, and perspective.
