Where I grew up in Middle Tennessee, our front porch held a big glider where various ones of us spent time whiling away a Sunday afternoon. Honeysuckle wound its way through the spirea bush just behind it, and permeated the air with wafts of sweet fragrance. Today, those Sundays make me think of sweet tea and warm memories of days gone by.
We kids used paper cups outside on the porch, while the grown-ups drank from tall tumblers. Occasionally, a neighbor from up the street walked down and joined the conversation. As a child, I sat on the concrete steps and played with my Betty Grable or Betsy McCall paperdolls, sometimes a set of Jacks, and sipped my sweet tea. It was a peaceful time that stayed with me throughout my life. It evokes good memories of my parents, instead of the deadly silent glares between my Mother and step-father that usually covered the remainder of the week.
At the age of 8, I stayed for a time with my grandmother in Pavo, Georgia, where we spent Sunday afternoons shelling pecans on her front porch. She welcomed neighbors who stopped by to meet her granddaughter. They treated me like one of the adults, and I felt special. Sitting on that porch, Grandmother tried her best to teach this little left-handed girl how to crochet, and I watched quietly as she crocheted clothes for my doll. Those quiet activities were always accompanied by a glass of sweet tea.
Even Teenagers Like Porches
I spent many a late Sunday afternoon or evening during my teen years on our front porch, sometimes with a boyfriend of the moment. Other times were shared with the older boy from next door to whom I shared all my teenage angst and friend or boyfriend problems. Those evenings also brought out the sweet tea.
Carrying on a Tradition of Sweet Tea & Porches
I carried the tradition of peaceful Sunday afternoons sipping sweet tea on the porch into my marriage and on through the years. As my children grew up, our home’s patio with a wisteria-covered arbor became the place to gather on late afternoons to enjoy the pool, a cool drink and warm breeze.
Porches – either front or back – were a common sight in the Nashville of my childhood. They continue to hold a special place for many Southern families today. In lives that rarely slow down during the week, a lazy Sunday afternoon provides time for parents and children to chat about activities and share their lives. I wouldn’t take anything for those memories.
Today, Jim and I live in Southwest Florida, where porches are mostly screened and dubbed “the lanai.” In our Englewood home, we filled the lanai with tropical plants, both large and small, and spent hours enjoying the privacy of our little hideaway with glasses of tea. Sometimes, we “doctored” the tea with other ingredients. Now, our home is a condo with a lovely screened lanai on a golf course with water views on two sides. We often spend an hour or so there in the quiet of an early evening with glasses of sweet tea, watching the blue herons feed on the banks of the pond. Y’all stop by and join us some evening, and we’ll pour you a glass.
*Check out a few special iced tea recipes here.
