When I Sit on My Porch at the End of the Day . . .

. . . the world seems simple and tranquil; and all things seem possible.

When I sit on my porch at the end of the day, I hear birds calling out to one another; I hear the goats next door bleating as they are fed their dinner; I hear the hum of traffic on the highway nearby.

When I sit on my porch at the end of the day, I talk quietly with my husband, and sip satisfying wine, and process the thoughts and events of the day.

When I sit on my porch at the end of the day, I’m awed again by the tiny birds who built nests in our hanging plants – so industrious, so focused, so deeply responding to their biological imperative to multiply that they are unaware that my plants are struggling to survive with the intrusion of nests and our reticence to water in case it harms the babies. Isn’t that beautiful?

When I sit on my porch at the end of the day, I am sitting at the top of a hill and looking out to the hills in the distance. I see an exquisite variety of trees in full vigor, and am grateful that they work hard to transform the CO2 we so profusely produce, into O2 that we so fundamentally need.

When I sit on my porch at the end of the day, I have time to become aware of things that I never notice otherwise: the sound of the boy across the street playing basketball; the way the setting sun casts its light on the hillside; the way the mother bird flies into her nest – just a few feet away from me – and settles in; the way the air smells; the way I feel whole.

When I sit on my porch at the end of the day, I find it is difficult to understand why it takes the time and deliberations of the highest court in the land to figure out that people who love each other should have the joy and delight of marrying and having the freedoms and privileges that marriage offers . . . everyone.

When I sit on my porch at the end of the day, I think about my life – my joys and sorrows; my challenges and accomplishments; my hopes and dreams. And all seems possible.

When I sit on my porch at the end of the day, I am overcome. The world is so incredibly, exquisitely beautiful. And I get to be alive in it.

When I sit on my porch at the end of the day, I say ‘thank you’ for all that has been; for all that can be; for all that is to come.

When I sit on my porch at the end of the day . . .