Swing

A View from Our Porch Swing

Phyllis Inspiration, Lifestyle 21 Comments

Every morning, Neal and I sit outside watching the world come to life after a long night’s rest. I enjoy having my morning coffee outside, and one of the things I love most is sitting in our porch swing while sipping my coffee. We have always enjoyed having a swing, and we can solve all the world’s problems from it.

Swing View

We’ve noticed that anytime a friend or family comes to visit, they always head for the swing on the porch. Kids love it, and adults love it even more! There is nothing more refreshing than swinging with the wind blowing through your hair.

Our patio furniture is by Woodard, and I rejoiced when I saw the swing in their collection. I love the overstuff cushions that just cradle us when we swing. It has an outdoor fabric, making it even better! 

What is it about a swing that draws us? As kids, we had rope swings with a wooden board for the bottom, tire swings, and then we graduated to the swing set—complete with a slide. Today these sets are very elaborate, but ours 

was simple. We played for hours on those swing sets.

The school swings were big, and they had a leather strap for the bottom. We would take turns pushing each other until we almost flew out of the swing. But it was so much fun to see who could go the highest!

Porch

My grandchildren also love to swing. They run to the swings first when we go to the playground—the higher the better. I feel sorry for the little ones on the playground who just aren’t big enough and have to watch the older 

kids go up so high. Their baby swings just don’t quite get it. 

My porch swing represents rest and relaxation to me. Do we really take time to relax like we should? Many of us think we relax, but our minds race back to the things that are on our list to handle or solve. I am challenging myself to learn to relax and contemplate all the blessings I have.  When you think of those precious to you and spend time recalling fun times together, it makes you relax.

Do you need a swing at your house? Maybe so—they sure are fun. Share your memories of swinging with me!

 

Where’s your favorite place to relax in your home?

2017 Cottage Summer

Comments 21

  1. I was blessed to have been raised by my “Mammaw”, her house was small and simple, but on the front porch was a swing and each year it got a fresh coat of paint. No matter what problem or crisis I experienced, when I would come in declaring in a very dramatic voice ” my life is ruined”, Mammaw always had the same response; she would always say “let’s go sit in the swing”. I cherish those times . I’m 70 years old and yes I have a swing in my backyard, it gets a fresh coat of “blue” paint to honor my home state of Kentucky. And I thankful to say that many of my problems are resolved when “I go sit in the swing”

  2. There has to be something physiological about being on a swing that makes you so feel the sense of such calm and watching the world go by without a care in the world. I think we can all remember our first swing…whether it be a child’s swing set, a single swing or a tire hanging on a branch of an old tree in the yard. I miss the days of my granddaughter saying, “higher grandma, higher grandma!” … My favorite place to relax has to be my upper back porch that makes me feel like I am in a treehouse! I can see that you have a most wonderful view from your swing!

  3. When we were young, all six of us kids would enjoy swinging on a two-seated glider in our backyard. Once we got the rhythm of the swing going, we would start singing the song,” Swing Along the Open Road.” We would sing both parts that overlapped and made harmony something like a “round.” It wS so much fun, especially if the glider started swinging faster or slower and we tried to pace our singing to the rhythm of the swing.

  4. Our favorite place to start the day and to relax is our front porch. We have a sunflower theme including sunflower border, two original sunflower paintings, a sunflower mat, a sunflower reminder board (custom made), and a sunflower ceramic large jar and presently real sunflowers in vases. My husband and I are both retired so we have the luxury of eating quite a few of our meals on our front porch. We live in Michigan so the view changes from season to season. We had wonderful geraniums this year from the VA Nursery in Battle Creek. They grew very tall in our nine flower boxes on the front and side of the house. We have a yellow windchime with a decorative bee on top holding a flower with a pinwheel inside its body. We feed and enjoy watching the birds which include humming birds, blue jays, cardinals, black capped chickadees, sparrows, wrens, and more. Our view out of our front porch windows is of our Little Free Library, our Victorian mailbox, a flagpole with American and POW flags, and mums and hanging baskets. After our drought and heatwave, this morning was sheer heaven on our front porch enjoying breakfast, fresh air and a breeze.

  5. My grandparents had a large home with a porch swing which hung from the ceiling by chains. All their grandkids played on it while awaiting Sunday dinner at their house. We lived a few streets away but there was no porch swing there. That is until I graduated from high school and asked for one as part of my graduation gift. It hung at Mom’s house until I married and hung it on my own front porch. When we moved again twice, I had to settle for porch gliders but there was really nothing quite like dangling my feet from those ceiling chain swings.

  6. Once again Phyllis we have a common passion. My backyard swing is my haven. It is positioned in a way that enables me to view my entire yard. I’m near our bird feeders and while I swing and sip I listen to all the species of birds and
    smile at their antics. I reflect, plan, hope, dream, read “Victoria “, watch the seasons change and swing my stress away. I will ALWAYS have a swing.

  7. Oh yes! We would go flying in those canvas and chain swings to the point we thought we might just go right around the top. So fun!

    My husband and I bought a porch swing about 20 years ago and there it is, always popular at parties with both children and adults. It is so soothing to just sit and go back and forth.

  8. Swinging is a part of many cherished memories from childhood and beyond — at home and on the school playground; in nearby hometown parks and faraway national ones; or on the porch at sunset overlooking the lake… Swinging is a simple joy filled experience.

  9. Never had a porch swing but we have a very nice table and two chair set we have on our front porch. We have watched sunrises, sunsets, rainstorms and the rainbow after the fact just sitting and having a glass of Wine, beer, in the evenings makes the end of the day that much better.

  10. We have a little cottage with a big deck on a quiet lake. I have a swing with a canopy; nothing fancy, but I found the perfect comfy cushion and toss on some pillows to make it all cozy for me, my coffee, my devotions, and then my Victoria magazine. I could spend hours out there (and I do) while my hubby is reclining in his Lazy Boy napping or watching a ball game. It’s the best .

  11. My favorite swing is my daughter’s antique, 8 foot long, black wicker one, which overlooks Old Hickory lake in Tennessee. I am also partial to my 7 foot black “newer” wicker swing which hangs on my back porch. Both are layered with pillows and are the perfect place for a quiet time, reading or sometimes a nap.

  12. We don’t have a swing anymore (we did at our old house), but we do have rocking chairs on our lanai and birdcage in FL. The best time of the day is sitting on the lanai whether in the morning or the evening. We have a perfect view of the sunset every night. Several nights a week my husband takes a photograph of the sunset to share on our community FaceBook page. We’ve settled the worlds problems many times over the years, either in our swing or in our rocking chairs. Most of all, I love the time I get to share with him and all of the laughter.

  13. We bought our home from my parents in 1978. They had a heavy steel glider that sat on our covered front porch. They left it for me when we bought it. I am so glad, many a countless story were told while I was growing up and it continued with my family of five. If that porch could talk , we could write a book of life experiences, funny, sad, secrets, and surprises! We have since moved in 2009 and brought the glider with us on our new patio.
    What sweet reminders that piece of outdoor furniture has given us through the years. I believe the glider was originally bought around 1950 when my parents built their home on Green Valley Drive ~ Sis, my nickname

  14. Swinging is so relaxing. Just the ability to swing in the peace and quiet after a busy day (or not) with your tea, coffee, or whatever you like to drink is calming. And let’s not forget the cooler evenings when a warm drink on the porch (as you are wrapped in a light blanket) also brings a peace and tranquility that is so soothing.

  15. When my husband of 45 years was first part of our family he joined the tradition at my parents home of sitting on the porch after dinner in nice weather. It was a time to relax and enjoy nature and have some quiet time together, and not to discuss world affairs or tell jokes. My husband started chattering away and soon I heard a big sigh from my dad.

    I looked over at my husband and said, “Honey, we’re porch sittin’; we aren’t out here to talk. We’re out here to porch sit.” He got the message and for 45 years sometimes one of us says to the other “We need to porch sit.” We often watch the sun go down in the porch swing, surrounded by the two wild rabbits that have befrinded us.

  16. My favorite thing when I was a young child was to swing high and low in the swing set that I was given on my 3rd birthday. It sat in the side yard of our old house and moved with us to the new one seven years later. It included a trapeze and bars to climb on. We used to put on “shows” with all our skills. My sister who was seven years did her share of swinging and climbing on that beloved set. That swing is long gone but when we later shared property on the Shadowy St. Joe River in Idaho, we set up a log swing that had two seats facing each other. What peaceful pleasure to sit, swing and watch the water flow by.

  17. Thank you for reminding me of swings. I miss the one we had on our glassed in front porch on the farm for twenty one years. Yes, the kids had theirs out back hanging from the big old oak tree as well. Back in town I now have a baby swing on the patio for the little ones but must say I think I too need to get another for the adults. My adult grandson with autism finds great comfort swinging when he becomes upset and says it unscrambles his brain. I know young children with autism also find the enclosed soft swings are great therapy too.

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