{ my morning porch }

I've been enjoying Dave Bonta's short tweet-style blog, The Morning Porch for a few days now since I discovered it. I love the simplicity and consistency that his little writing routine establishes, and I have to say that I became envious of his early morning porch patterns a few days ago.

We ourselves have quite a lovely porch on the front of our house--it came optional with the house, and for the minor sum it would cost us, it seemed more than a good deal to add it when we had our house built. Having moved in at the end of November, however, our porch became a glorified dumping ground through the move-in, through the winter, and even now, into the summer. Anything dirty, outdoorsy, oddly-shapen, or decrepit was left to collect on our porch, smashing our home's curb appeal into oblivion. Derek started the big clean up attempt just after the snow melted, building a small brick patio in our muddy backyard and relocating our barbeque back there. The defunct and hideous pair of 80's skis got shipped off to the dump this past week, thus freeing up even more room on the porch. And the outdated, laquer-flaking wicker patio furniture stacked every which way? This week we spray painted it a new shade of chocolate brown, dug the cushions out of the basement, and have set up a nice new little arrangement with it. The furniture looks cleaned and revived, if not, dare I say it, brand new. We purchased two outdoor rugs and set them up, one as welcome mat and one nestled beneath the furniture (loveseat, coffee table, two chairs) set up.

Before repositioning everything on the deck, though, I had a good one hour sweep and hose-down session to clear away the dust and grime that has built up from being in a newly developed neighborhood (you wouldn't believe the dump trucks and flatbed trucks of topsoil, gravel, wood chips, and other variously dusty and grimy supplies that are daily, if not hourly, dumped on all our neighbouring properties!).

This morning was my first little affair with my morning porch. I woke earlier than usual for a teacher on summer vacation, having to wait for a delivery boy who undoubtedly would have trouble finding our hard-to-find house (he confessed on arrival that he had been wandering for some time and only my friendly wave alerted him to the fact that he was at the right place). Having done without caffeine since nearly the end of school, I found I once again had to fire up the old coffee pot this morning to get my engine chugging. I paired my raspberry-flavoured coffee with a fresh saskatoon berry muffin that I baked yesterday morning. My senses were quickly enlivened as I toted my treats outside with me.

On the way, I grabbed my favorite birthday gift--an Anthony Bourdain book, The Nasty Bits, given to me by darling Derek--and then made for the porch, an extra pillow in tow for my back. Nestled deep into the wicker loveseat and its cushions, I kicked off my sandals and let my toes hang out between the spindles of the porch, soaking up the early sunshine.

Right now, two hours later, I feel truly "good" for the first time in several weeks. It is a basic thing, but I dressed nicely this morning for my little date with my book on the porch; I made a point of combing my hair and suddenly felt better about everything. I greeted the delivery boy with a smile and eager chit chat which I was surprised to find bubbled up sincerely, with true happiness finally coming out of me. It's still too soon for a public confession of the hardship I have been enduring for the past few weeks, but it is a good feeling to know that, day by day, I am surpassing this trial, am finding new bits of myself, healed parts that have turned old hurts into new life.

Despite the appeal of sleeping in every day, I think I far prefer an early, quiet date with my morning porch, and I shall keep it up from this day forward. Although I won't endeavor to make it a daily installation as Dave has, I'm sure you can expect more brief tales of contentment to come. Maybe you should join in with me, sit out on your porch or stoop, and drop a comment or link if you've something to add.