Mommy and newborn napping on the couch
You all know I'm moving. I have been annoying you with the details for months now. This evening it really hit that life is moving forward and time is passing.
I gave my couch to my maid. I'm sure all of you are thinking "And?" The thing is that it was mine and Mr. Rant's first big purchase together, apart from the first apartment we bought.
That sofa supported us through many stages of life. It was the fabulously comfortable pull out my first American visitors slept on during my pregnancy with The Chatterbox. It stayed a pull out bed in our tiny living room for the first 3 months of The Chatterbox's life as we used it as our daytime bed/nighttime nursing spot.
We moved it with us to our new bigger place. It became the playroom couch. It's where The Menace laid as I played with the toddler version of The Chatterbox. It was my parent's bed, as well as anyone else who stayed here. And it managed to stay the same obnoxiously bright orange throughout chocolate milk spills, tent making, playing, movie watching, and guests.
Seeing it taken apart and leaving my place made me nostalgic. I felt myself saying goodbye to a piece of furniture that reminded me of the new adult Rachel, the new Mom Rachel, and the I hate this big freaking orange sofa Rachel.
I saw my skinny and hardly pregnant butt de-virginizing it upon it's arrival to our place. I can still remember the comfort of sitting on that sofa, over the old futon that it replaced, as my ass widened and my belly grew. It was where I was laying when my breast milk came it. I'm pretty sure there's still some in the cushions as I was a milk cow. It was the first important piece of furniture The Chatterbox peed all over as an infant, but definitely not the last.
Seeing it leave my place made me realize how far I have come from the girl that bought it. It's hard to say goodbye to her as I am quite fond of her sassy ways. And while I am looking forward to having a real "adult" apartment with planned and matching furniture, I look back fondly on the process of the first time furnishing a home. There is so much pride in your pieced together room, an appreciation we have a tendency of losing over time. Things just become things that can easily be thrown away. But when you are starting out and struggling to piece together a life you see the character behind the story of each item. I am going to miss that.
I will be following this with a ridiculous montage of photos of said couch in respect to our daily life. Enjoy:
Baby Chatterbox with his pet spoon and couch. Yes, he had a pet spoon.
Playing hairdresser/dress up with Mommy in front of couch
Annoying napping Tio (uncle) with a friend as he napped on couch
The Menace chilling with Batman in a tent made on couch
Do you have/had a piece of furniture that holds memories like this? If so, do tell!
That is one hideous fucking sofa. Thank your maid. :)
ReplyDeleteI've logged many sleepy miles on that orange sofa...I'll miss it as much as you will...the perfect spot to stretch out on with a Daniel and Rachel and watch movies...while we waited for Chatter Box to arrive. I know it's going to a good home...but it'll be missed. You served us well orange couch...you served us well.
ReplyDeleteI feel this! Loved all of your photos. It's sometimes difficult to let go and move on, and as we get older, I think we really do get more sentimental, and being a parent, it hits home really hard, especially when you see your kids growing up every day, things change so quickly. OMG, how long can I hold onto clothes my son wore when he was a newborn? Truth is here in Rio, they won't make it/survive. But I still have a hard time tossing out a few items. Memories, emotion, experiences, life. Love that orange couch of yours btw! May it have a wonderful new life with its new owner. And good luck with the move! I hope it doesn't rain!
ReplyDeleteI find it interesting that you call the couch "she" when in Portuguese it is a masculine noun. Why is it a girl to you, Rachel?
ReplyDeleteI still get to see my childhood couch since my parents retained it. It is a big piece of furniture made from very sturdy wood and while it is no stranger to re-cushioning the wooden structure was never tampered with. I played Fort on that structure, had out of room "camp outs" on that couch plus many, many more adventures such as the ones provided by the wrestling league I founded in the neighborhood and which used said couch as center ring (and drove my mom nuts).
ReplyDeleteAnyway I disagree with Stay at Home Babe regarding the aesthetics of your couch: I think it looks good and went well with the settings were it was placed (although my wrestling persona--The Power Gorilla-- would disallow such a girly observation). Yet, above all, it looks fun.
I'm sure it will be very useful to the new owner and be fertile ground for many a wrestler in the years to come.
Goodbye couch... Luiz and I enjoyed our time with you last Carnival.
ReplyDeleteFurniture shopping for the new place?
When we left Pennsylvania and moved to New Jersey we had to sell 90% of our furniture (waaaay smaller house and difficult circumstances). I was OK watching every single piece go until it came to our coffee table. Of all things, a battered wooden and wobbly coffee table that had been a wedding gift. My kids had learned to walk holding on to it, they sat on it to color, they left cup rings permanently on the surface and scratched the shit out of it. They blew out birthday candles on it. I changed more than a few diapers on it and one of them threw up on it at least once.
ReplyDeleteI cried for an hour after someone drove away with it from our garage sale.
Meredith, pregnancy will do that to ya ;)
ReplyDeleteTao, that is exactly how I felt. Just that one piece. We gave away a few others as well. And Jim, we have already bought a very nice (and comfortable) sofa. High quality baby with anti staining stuff for the nice fabric, not that the kids are allowed on it anyway;)
Babe, the new one is a royal purple. Eat your heart out
Grit, my mom had our couch forever but since she would re-upholster it constantly it always looked new. And she did it herself. Amazing woman.
Vic, my orange sassy couch was SO a woman!
Danielle, They do! It's kind of scary!
Kay and Stephanie, I loved that orange couch too but it's time with us was done. Now we are moving on to purple! :D
I certainly felt this way about my car. Selling it back in May meant I was seriously saying goo-bye to life in California! I was reminded of all the foster kids I transported, of people I had lent it o, and of all the stuff I hauled around for various enrichment programs for low-income youth. I also was very picky about who I sold it to- I wanted it to be well-loved and appreciated.
ReplyDeletebeautiful post! Rachel you have this power with words, always gets everyone involved in a very pleasant way, that's fantastic!
ReplyDeleteI felt like when we had to sell the house I grew up going to live in a major, was so nostalgic to see a part of my life being left behind
Thanks Plug!
ReplyDelete