Screen doors and front porches

Little skinny girl with baby fine hair running amok through the house, usually chasing or being chased by my little brother. We plow through the screen door and the sound of the wood banging shut against wood, and bouncing back for a repeat, and the metal door latch clangs and swings. I so love the sound of a wooden screen door banging shut. I love the little grove the latch makes over time as it swings with the movements of company and family in, company and family out. I like peering out through the screen door at the seasons changing. At who is coming up the lane. At the sheets and towels gently swaying in the breeze on the clothesline. At daddy coming home from work, swinging his lunch box in one hand~and I knew there was going to be a candy bar for me and my brother to call dibs on. And some warm mornings would find me in a chair positioned in front of the screen door as momma french braided my hair so I could leave for school. And I watched the sun rise over the hills and complained about the braids most of the time. So now I am a homeowner and I chose to have a wooden screen door (or two) custom made for my little cottage of a home. I still cherish the same sounds and feelings evoked by the banging of the screen door. And then I sit on the front porch in my rocking chair enveloped by the evening air. Usually with a book. Or maybe some crocheting. Maybe just solitude watching the kids play on the lawn, or riding their bicycles up and down the lane. I take my childhood with me and I bask in the tranquil sounds and sights that made growing up in a small country town priceless and one of my greatest treasures. And I can call them up whenever I want. I just bang the screen door and sit in the rocker on the front porch for good measure.