Family Assets... Building Blocks for Life Family Life Month Packet Family and Consumer Sciences Build Caring Neighborhoods on the Porch

“Out on the porch... ” The very words bring to mind a mood, a feeling, an image of a place to relax and enjoy a cool breeze on a warm afternoon or evening, a place for reading, rocking, storytelling and sharing with family neighbors and friends. The porches in our lives hold vivid memories for fami-lies. Greetings and partings of family and friends take place there. For some, the porch becomes (at least in the “old-fashioned days”) an outdoor living room—a place to spend hours sitting and talking with family and friends. Nobody thought much about the front porch when most Americans had them and used them. The great American front porch was just there, open and sociable, an unassigned part of the house that belonged to everyone and no one, a place for family and friends to pass the time. Davida Rocklin “Perhaps more things were resolved on America’s front porches than in any other place, and yet so few are being used today, ” comments writer Gary Smalley. Today, tele-visions, computers, air conditioners, privacy fences, end-less activities, and busyness seem to keep people off their porches. Or due to architectural design, maybe all a home has is a stoop or step and a door. Does Your Porch Say Welcome? Do you have a cheerful porch? Porches can give a glimpse of the personality of a home and its owner. The entrance to the place you call home speaks volumes about who lives beyond the door. No matter how big or small your porch, it can call out a warm welcome to guests with a little creativity and planning. Dress it up for holidays and the changing seasons with a colorful doormat, a little paint, some pretty flowers, or furniture. Remember, it is your front porch, the place where you welcome others into your life