Summer Storms
July 10, 2020
The Porch Was a Relaxing Place.
For as long as I can remember, I have hoped for a thunderstorm on a summer night. Growing up in South Carolina, the relief that comes with a good, hard rain is immeasurable! We would play hard in the hot summer sun… at the end of the day, with sunburns and heavy eyelids we longed for the ease and comfort of an evening on the porch. If there was a storm brewing, that experience was made all the better. Sitting quietly on the swing or in rockers, we would wait for a lightning strike and begin counting until we heard the rolling thunder so that we would know how many miles away the storm was… and when the heavy deluge of rain had stopped and the thunder was fading into the distance, it felt as if the hot, full air had been lifted off of us like a blanket and we all breathed a little easier. We took in the smell of fresh rain on warm dirt and resilient blades of green grass. I can remember this, on several porches in my lifetime; sitting on the screened porch in the swing with my mama when I was little, on my grandmama’s porch with my cousins when I was older... and when I sat with my own children huddled together on our porch swing with the thunder and lightning striking and booming all around us.
Protected and Loved
A tinge of danger juxtaposed with the safety of those who love and protect us. I have often heard that “transitional spaces” such as porches give us the sense of being outside but also, the protection from what may be outside, especially in the dark. Feeling thankful to the person who gave us such a magical space…
