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portable crib or a safety gate, the little ones could enjoy the serenity with us. We would visit with neighbors who stopped by while walking down the street and wave to others who passed while walking a dog or pushing a stroller. We could see older kids playing in their front yards. Whenever we had the luxury of relaxing, we were out on the porch.

As the children grew, they wanted to ride their bikes and run around the neighborhood with their friends. The porch offered a perfect perch from which we could keep an eye on them. I remember long summer days when they played tag, hide-and-seek and capture the flag well into the evening, their laughter always audible. We had no need for cellphones.

The front porch was the perfect setting, too, for family pictures. We have photos of kids sprawled there during birthday parties and, later, shots before homecoming, prom and, most recently, a wedding.

On one occasion, my husband, a judge, donned his robe and held a swearing-in on the porch. And when I worked at WCMH-TV, the porch served as the backdrop for a decade of live television on Beggars Night.

The porch was also a great place to party. (My apologies to our neighbors, who had to put up with our revelry a couple of evenings a summer.) I even held an annual girls-night porch party, with friends parked anywhere they could find to sit and wine and pizza close at hand.

So many stories. If that

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porch could talk ....

Well, we sold our home in Clintonville this summer. At our stage in life, downsizing is the thing to do.

Many people have asked whether I was sad to leave the house after 31 years. In all honesty, I don’t miss it — mostly because the kids are gone, and our kids made the house a home.

I do, however, miss the All text is subject to editing. The writer should be identified by name, age, occupation, hometown and phone number. Anyone selected for publication will be asked to supply a photograph or have a photo taken.

A submission used becomes the property of The Dispatch; it cannot be reproduced elsewhere without our permission. front porch. That little window to my Clintonville neighborhood holds many lasting memories of children, friends, love and laughter.

Here’s hoping that the new owners create many memories of their on own on that lovely front porch.