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By Laura Staudacher
Our front porch on my house in Fairfield Village Neighborhood is our bright spot, coping mechanism, and general happy place. My house was built in 1916, and has a generous front porch. Someone screened in part of it at one point, so it's almost bug free and an extension of our living space in the summer. I bought the house in 2014, and the front porch was one of the dealmakers.
My daughter and granddaughter live with me, and we have all been home together since March when the pandemic took it's turn for the worse. I'm working from home, my granddaughter (14) is online learning, and my daughter is a freelance writer and works from home, but is not used to all of us being home all the time.
The front porch is our place for morning coffee, family discussion, greeting neighbors, doing craft projects, eating lunch, decompressing, and people watching. We have four cats who come in and out a window during the day and enjoy lounging on the ledges and watching birds, or laying in sun spots. From the porch, we can catch up with our neighbors and enjoy interaction with others while still social distancing. On any given day you might see us on the porch knitting or crocheting, sitting with a laptop or our cell phones, or simply enjoying the sunshine/shade.
We have done our best to social distance, because of high risk factors associated with COVID-19. Without our front porch as a window to the outside world, and a place for fresh air and sunshine at any given point in the day (or night), I think we would have lost our minds by now. It will be a sad day when winter comes and the porch is too cold to enjoy.
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