...She sat cross-legged in the wicker chair on the porch and savored each sip from her steamy mug. Stroking her kitty, which was asleep on her lap, she listened to the sound of the breeze in the trees and the far off humm of her grandfather on the tractor. It was only then that she realized the simple moments in life really are the best ones after all...
I grew up in a little town surrounded by walnut orchards. While today it is very different, back then it was one of those sleepy little towns with no stoplights where everybody knew everything about everyone else. Each day when I walked to school, I would pass by my grandmother's house and wave. More often than not, she'd be sitting either out on the porch or just inside the window at her dining room table with the slick vinyl tablecloth. She would smile and wave back as I would continue down the block to the schoolhouse.
When the afternoon bell would signal school was done, I would often stop at Grandmother's to say hi on my way home. Grandma always had cookies to share and I was one of those kids that wasn't going to pass up a free cookie. She would often be sitting in her chair with a hot cup of coffee doing, what appeared to me, to be absolutely nothing. I would plop down my heavy backpack and sit in her stuffed swivel chairs (after first asking for a cookie). Before she had a chance to catch a breath, I'd burst with the news from the day while spinning around and around until I started to feel dizzy. Once I had spun enough, I'd sit on the floor and pet my Grandpa's little dog or their Siamese cat. While I doted on their animals, I would talk, talk, talk. Grandma heard all about what I was studying, who fell down on the playground, and what grade I got on my spelling test. She usually wouldn't say much, just nod and continue with drinking her coffee. Once all my stories were exhausted, I'd pick back up my backpack, say my goodbye's, and continue the short walk home.
One day I asked Grandma,
"Don't you get bored sitting here all day?"
She told me that she didn't sit there ALLLLLLL day, but that she liked to watch the kids go to and fro in the mornings and afternoons. I then asked her again,
"But isn't it so BORING watching the same cars and kids pass by every single day?"
Grandma said that it wasn't so boring. She liked to see the kids growing taller and the leaves change colors with the seasons. Grandma liked the simplicity of piping hot black coffee and the squeak of her favorite chair.
"But Grandma, don't you love to go to town and go shopping and see new things?" I asked.
In response to my question, Grandma just chuckled and said that she'd seen enough on her last trip to keep her from needing to go back for a while. It took me quite a few years of growing up before I understood why my Grandma loved to sit and be still, but now, I understand.
Inspired by plaid vinyl tablecloths and pots of spring bulbs, the Southern Porch Pattern Collection is a nod to these simple moments sitting with my Grandmother.
If you liked these patterns, you may also like the flower farm collection.
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