This old couch
Cindy on August 20th, 2008
Well, our big-ugly sectional sofa went out with the trash last week. It was so huge that Doug had to break it into several parts in order to haul it up from the basement and pile it on the curb. Its saggy black leather cushions were marked with cat scratches, and it didn’t owe us another minute of use.
We’d purchased the thing several years ago, when our son started high school. We’d just remodeled the basement, hoping to create a cool space where our son and his pals would want to hang out. It worked. And that huge black leather sectional was the nucleus of the room, in more than a decorative sense. Like a bonfire at a campsite, it drew people together and inspired camaraderie.
Throughout the high school years, it provided ample seating on movie nights for “the crew,” my son’s inseparable neighborhood pals. Later, its built-in sofa bed (never very comfortable) hosted college buddies who came to visit. Its proximity to a private bathroom, in fact, made it a hit with any overnight guest we entertained.
Our son graduated college and left the state for his new career this summer, so Doug and I decided it was time to upgrade the furniture in the basement. Time to reclaim the space for ourselves.
“Wow, it’s the end of an era,” my next-door neighbor joked when she saw the sectional in pieces on the curb. “Maybe we should have a memorial service for it.”
Honestly, I didn’t feel the least bit tearful or nostalgic. But as strange as it sounds, I did feel sort of indebted to that piece of furniture for welcoming my son’s friends. I felt grateful that Doug and I were able to provide a safe place where young people wanted to be. Grateful that our home had the room and the heart for it.
– Cindy La Ferle writes on home and family issues at Cindy La Ferle’s Home Office: www.laferle.com
August 20th, 2008 at 10:07 am
Amen to all of the above. That piece of furniture will live on in the memories of those young people also. I was very happy that our home seemed to be a magnet for our children’s friends. They always knew they were welcome.
Terrific post Cindy. It brought back lots of memories.
- Suzanne, the Farmer’s Wife
August 20th, 2008 at 2:08 pm
Well said and a healthy move. The room served its purpose beautifully and will now undergo a renaissance to accommodate your family’s new
next phase. What color’s the new couch going to be?
August 20th, 2008 at 6:02 pm
Glad to hear you weren’t tearful over the demise of the “Big Comfy Couch”, but I was!
There was a similar sanctuary in my home while my boys were growing up and I miss it.
All came back to me reading your words.
Thanks for this, Cindy. After I had a good cry I ‘phoned my son and made a plan to see him on the weekend.
I’m to bring brownies and a pan of lasagne…and the grand-girls would like some home-made play-doh.
So much for nostalgia…forward I go!
So…what’s going in the space vacated by the sectional??
Betty
August 20th, 2008 at 7:21 pm
Thanks for the kind words, everyone! We’ve replaced the big-ugly sectional with an upgrade …. yet another black leather sectional of much better quality for Mom and Dad. (The carpet and walls are gray, so we didn’t have much choice.) We’ve also cleared out a lot of junk and installed some new shelves — something we’ve put off for a while.
August 21st, 2008 at 7:18 pm
Do you have FREECYCLE in your area, Cindy? You can check on freecycle.org … Believe it or not, someone might actually put your next piece of much loved and much used furniture to reuse…
August 27th, 2008 at 11:43 am
Cindy -
Funny, after reading your comment on my blog today about facing high school, I came across this blog. Your direction about ensuring that our kids connect with the right group is so important – and also to your point, creating a space in your house inviting to these kids to hang out in is critical. So then I was thinking I had to move forward with our plan to get our basement in order and fix it up as a good hang out space….when I came across this entry. I think it’s time for me to find the big comfy couch!