King's Daughter's Kitchen

My home is a mile or two from everything great downtown. It has a large wraparound porch, a swing, and two red iron rockers that face the street. The ice cream man still delivers in the afternoon after the school bus comes. Adults and children ride their bikes by and stop to chat. Parents bring their children to my porch to sell Girl Scout cookies (yummy thin mints) and Campfire candy bars (Campfire Smores oh yes).

Neighbors share the goings on during morning porch sittin’. We share coffee while chat about who is sick and needs prayer. Then, we pray aloud. We talk about families who need help and where we could get it. We make a note of strange cars and people for the safety of our families. Then, we share the good that bonds us, recipies, jokes, aches, and stories until called by errands of the day, one by one each neighbor says his or her goodbyes and I go in to begin my chores as well.

If I have no chores I may go exploring in places I have never been. I may be off to the ice cream store down the street or the library a mile away. I could go to the exercise and activity classes on the second floor of the library while I’m there.

If I’m cooking later, I’ll go to the Farmer’s Market on the town square where I might see more neighbors. If I’m not cooking, I’ll take Feivel, my German shepherd husky, to the dog park. If it’s not a church night, in the evening, I’ll have tea on my porch. Instead of listening to neighbors, I can hear the trickle and flow from a lit fountain in a rose garden across the street, the far away horn of a diesel train, and a single owl hooting to claim his territory or find a lady friend. My neighborhood is special. It is important to me because of the connections I have chosen to make to its people and places. I love porch sittin’ and exploring in the heart of the city.