Disclaimer: This is NOT an advertisement for Leigh’s deck. I am not trying to increase traffic at Leigh’s spot!
Nine years in Boston and it only took one summer for me to fall in love with Leigh’s porch. Almost everything Leigh touches turns to gold, and the same is true for her deck. Leigh treats her home with a precision and touch that is simple, natural, and beautiful. There is meaning and love in every corner and I was lucky to have experienced that even for a short time. This is why so many of us women folk have started to refer to Leigh’s spot as The Haven. It’s a safe, sacred space.
The wood may be a little splintery, but the deck has so much spirit to it. It’s homey and welcoming –from the plants that Leigh has cultivated to life –especially the pepper and tomato plants, her green Adirondack chair that was lovingly stripped and repainted, the cushions, the candles, and the monster grille are all parts of what makes Leigh’s deck, Leigh’s deck.
It’s a wonderful place to be alone. If it’s sunbathing with an iced coffee or some water, or a starlit night to reflect upon, it’s a deck that let me be alone. On the third floor, I would sit close to the boughs of branches, listening and hearing their rustle while life went on below me. It’s like a tree house for grown ups. I would read in the sun up there, nap, and think. This summer has been full of lots of brain and spirit movement for me and Leigh’s deck was the place to do that thinking about the past, now, and future.
While it’s a great place to be alone, it was/is also a perfect place for family. Leigh, the wasps, and I have enjoyed some nice lunches and dinners on the deck together, basking in the sun, good food, and good drink. In my short time there, we’ve had gatherings that have brought beautiful people together and it’s the love with which Leigh inhabits the Haven that welcomes us all when we’re together.
I’ll be forever grateful for all those moments on the deck and how those moments brought me closer to that higher ground I’m looking for.
3 comments:
yessss! The Haven- the sacredness of her space was immediately a source of inspiration to aggressively create one of my own-- as you know.
does she take reservations? jk.
Aw shucks, I sure am humbled by these beautiful words. It makes me so happy that you and others have put good energy into this place as well. And, you know, Beebs, part of what makes the place special is I only want wise souls in it; no trifling fools allowed. After 40 years, I've finally started figuring out the difference!
Yeah, and you've done an amazing job of teaching me how to weed out the trifling fools in my life! <3 You've been nothing but a blessing in my life, Ligins.
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