I saw you in my head before I ever set eyes on you. I knew exactly how you should look–red, but not fire engine red; long, but not abnormally so; deep, but not so much that you wouldn’t fit through our door–but for weeks I couldn’t find you. I found ones that wanted to be you, but they were made of the microfiber that neither Jeff nor I liked, or they were the wrong color red, or they were so overstuffed that you couldn’t sit on them without sliding off. I almost gave up hope. I almost settled.
But then…then I walked through the door of Bassett Furniture and there you were. Cushions that were just the right compromise of soft and firm. Pillows that could be taken off but stayed put when you wanted them to. Deep brown legs. And the perfect red color. It was love at first sight. But you refused to go home with me that first night. Instead I had to wait eight long weeks for you, but when you arrived, I realized the wait was worth it. You completed my room.
And now, 3.5 years later, you are still perfect. When I’m tired and want to do nothing but veg out, you welcome me into your embrace, and encourage me to relax, read a book, watch some TV. You don’t tell me that I should be productive or make me feel guilty for my pleasures. You’ve been a surrogate all those weeks when Jeff has been gone in Sweden, providing a cozy alternative to the emptiness of the bed. You’ve opened yourself to friends and family, even allowing my brother to call you his bed for an entire summer. You’ve weathered spills and crumbs without complaint. I couldn’t ask anything more of you. You’ve never once let me down.
Oh couch, what will I do without you? To what will I turn after a long, tiring day? The communal hostel couch—icky with god knows what—can never take your place. The worn hotel bed can never be an adequate replacement. Oh couch, how I will miss you. But I’ll survive, knowing you’ll be there when I return, as comfy and embracing as ever. On the hardest of days, I’ll think of you waiting for me at home, and that alone will get me through.
This is the first in an occasional series titled “An Ode to…” in which we will reflect on things we will miss while we are traveling.
What kind of bum would spend an entire summer calling that couch “home”? I mean really, he has to be some sort of low life. It was very good to me. I rarely had trouble falling asleep or staying asleep on the couch. And thats a good thing considering that summer my sleep was usually no more than 6 hours and usually closer to 5 by the time I went to sleep.
‘Tis a nice couch.
Says the man who is going to take it out of the crawl space while you are visiting God knows where.
I know it will look great in my “remodeled” basement.
I wanted a red couch too, but Boris veto-ed it. We had to find an extra long, relatively deep couch to accommodate his long legs. It took forever to find, and we had to wait a little while too, but when it’s the right piece of furniture it’s always worth it 🙂 I think I’d miss my bed more than my couch though.
I miss my couch too. It’s the one piece of furniture I didn’t sell or give away before I left.
Your blog looks great! And thank you for linking to my RTW travel blog – you’re going to have an amazing time on your trip (it’s fun to say that from experience at this point)! Be sure to visit Nepal….this country with its scenery, culture and people are amazing.