Our Little Piece of Heaven
Janet Vint
ENG 121
Professor Adam Deutsch
January 25, 2013

As I sit and think of all the places that I love, our front porch is the one place that sticks out the most. No matter what season, there is nothing better than taking in all the wonderful sights and sounds of my neighborhood. Our front porch is an awesome place to sit back and relax while you enjoy the wonderful smelling flowers during spring, the warm breeze of a summer night or listening to the crunch of the leaves during the fall. Our front porch is the gathering place for my family to come and relax, whether it is with a soothing drink, a Stephen King book, to take a break from life’s obstacles or to watch my son play carefree. No matter the season, or the reason, our front porch offers comfort, relaxation and memories to all who visit. One spring, several years ago, we had purchased new porch furniture and could not wait to get home with it and try it out. Later that day, my husband and I began to sit down in the enormous fluffy tan cushions on the swing; we both turned around at the same time and looked at each with our heads laid back and started laughing hysterically. We could not believe the difference it made by just some new furniture. We sat there for a while taking in all the surroundings, from the bright red cardinals flying back and forth carrying on conversations, to the distant sound and smell of someone that was cutting their grass for the first time that season. The first summer we were able to enjoy our little piece of heaven was 2011. Our son was 15 months old and so full of life. We loved watching Lucas play and explore all the sights and sounds for the first time in his little life. When he would see the two little rambunctious squirrels running through the yard like they were competing in a NASCAR race, he would stop and point at them and begin to laugh uncontrollably. One memory in particular that comes to mind was during a thunderstorm, the roaring thunder and the illuminating lightning that filled the sky that night. As we sat there watching the awesome light and sound show that god had created, Lucas’ little eyes were so bright and big, he kept saying “ewww” and “wow”. Listening to the sound of the rain beating down on the tin roof was relaxing enough to put even the biggest insomniac to sleep, and that is just what it did, I looked down and Lucas was fast asleep. As summer faded into fall, so did the leaves. This year the leaves turned such beautiful colors; blood-red, sun burned orange and canary yellow filled our front yard. Sitting on our porch looking out, you felt as if you were on a boat floating through a leaf filled ocean. Lucas began to notice all the falling leaves. One afternoon I took him out in the yard to play, he leaped head first into the enormous heaping pile of leaves. As I sat on our porch steps, I watched him play his little heart out. He would dive into one side of the pile and come out on the other; it was as if he had turned into Snoopy the dog looking for Woodstock. His laughter sounded like a beautifully written ballad. As the Jim Croce song says, “If I Could Save Time in a Bottle” this would be one of those times. The dreaded winter had started showing signs of its unwelcome presence. The breeze had become bone chilling and dry as the desert sand. The rambunctious little squirrels that had run so carefree had left in search of a toasty place to stay for the winter. The cardinals had flown away as well. Lucas began to realize also that it was too cold to play on the porch. He would sit in the recliner and look out the window like a cat watching birds. He would say (in his own language), Mommy, too cold, no pay oww side. The day that we put our porch furniture in our storage building was the day I knew that our little piece of heaven would be put on hold until old man winter decided to go back into hibernation. We never imagined that our little piece of heaven would have played such a significant part in the way our son would discover the wonders of the outside world. No matter the season, or the reason, our front porch offers comfort, relaxation and memories to all who visit.