The Brown Couch

Today at church someone spoke of the "blue blanket" that had been such an integral part of their family's life. It made me start thinking of the "Brown Couch" that played a similar roll in our family.

The couch didn't start out as brown. It was white - pure white - kind of a burlap fabric. The salesman assured us that it was quite sturdy and wouldn't show dirt.

We had never really owned a couch! Not a real one - nice and new! When we married we had a "studio bed" that Aunt Bea gave us - it served us well for 3 years! Then - when we moved from Wisconsin to Oregon we sold all we had except what we could fit in our 14 foot sailboat and rented a furnished apartment for 2 1/2 years. The studio bed was no longer with us. The apartment came complete with a "hide a bed" that served quite well for family members who were our guests!

In 1973 Tom "graduated" and he got a "real" job teaching theater and writing at Chemeketa Community College - we rented a Town House in Keizer and moved in all we owned (by now it mostly fit in a small u-haul trailer). Most of what we owned were our 15.00 garage sale crib and our prize piece of furniture - a wooden high chair we bought from Penny's for our baby girl! We had an air mattress to sleep on ourselves until we found a mattress at the Goodwill. Our living room furniture consisted of a treadle sewing machine and Grandma Krythe's library table.

We were wanting a couch and found an "antique" cast off in the driveway of the Town House Apartments for FREE!! So we took it. Rather shabby green velvet it was. That served us well for about 2 more years.

During that time we had purchased our first home - 14,500.00!! We were POOR with the house-payments but we WANTED a cool couch to go in our living room with real wood floors so we had a garage sale. We took our profit at the end of the day and met the man with the white couch.

When the couch arrived it looked perfect sitting on our hardwood floors! It was beautiful! It was big - my tall husband could stretch all the way out on it! We could sit and read (we had no t.v.). We could entertain guests and feel proud that we had something to sit on. We could pet our cat Elmer who often perched on the back and sunned himself by the window.

If we pulled it out our children could put on puppet shows behind it ! When we wanted a treat at the 7-11 down the street from the next house we moved it to - we could pull off the cushions and find money dad had lost when he was sitting on it.

If someone was sick - we covered it with a sheet and pillows - and tucked that person in!!

If I was up late waiting for "daddy" to come home from working on a play - I could cat nap on the couch!

But - we found the salesman didn't REALLY know about active families because we had a REALLY hard time keeping that "white couch" white!!

The "couch" was such a part of our lives we couldn't imagine living without it...we now had 3 children...they could all sit on it at once, along with sundry cats and dogs, books and friends!!

And so - we "bit the bullet" and had it re-upholstered in a lovely brown heavy duty velvet kind of fabric. I'm thinking that was in about 1979!

Our couch welcomed two more little boys into our home - it "read" a lot more stories and comforted a lot of "colds" and "flues"!

It saw us bring home a used t.v. and rent a VCR and watch movies from home. That was a miracle!

It held us while we had family home evenings (or sometimes family home fights).

When we "looked" for money we always would find popcorn! The couch knew that Dad was the best of the popcorn makers and where else should we enjoy it but on the couch.

When we were missing Legos - we could look under the cushions or under the couch!

It held foster children who shared time with us - getting to know us and finding their way.

It moved with us to a bigger house - a house with a pool. Lots of friends came to play - to swim and then come in to "warm up" on the couch. It seemed impervious to the "wet bottoms" of the "not so dry suits"!

It was my place to be as friends came to share with me the sadness of a miscarriage!

The couch held us we sat in shock and sadness with my sister and her children as we mourned the loss of our dear Uncle.

The couch held us as we gathered for the passing of a my grandmother and grandfather - of my mom and my dad!

The couch hosted Grandparents and Great Grandparents - every Aunt and Uncle - every cousin!

The little people in the house got bigger and bigger ! The couch learned about homework - who needed a desk when you had the brown couch?

It learned about "teenagers" and "teenagers" friends. It learned about boys who got so hungry they would sit on the couch and eat and eat and eat! It learned that teenagers stay up really late and the couch would be there to be with them as they watched a movie. Or to be with my husband or I as we waited for the teenager to come home! It would be there to hear about what they did!

It learned about children learning about working and would be there early in the morning for the "rolling" of newspapers before newspaper routes - or for a quick nap after newspaper routes before school!

It took our family through hard times....and happy times.

Someone brought a dog home - Freedom was his name! Freedom was a puppy and we would hold him on our laps on the couch and watch t.v.. Freedom grew and he grew out of our laps but never off of the couch. Freedom was offended when someone would come and need to sit on "his" couch.

The couch was there to host guests at our daughters weddings! The couch was there to lay our first grandson on!

But, one day I looked at that couch - it was over 20 years old - and so loved! And so comfortable! But - so sad looking. I knew it was time to get a new couch. I asked my husband to take it to the Goodwill! That was maybe one of the hardest things he had to do.

It wasn't long and he and the brown couch came home. They wouldn't take it he said with unbelief and sadness. Such a wonderful part of our lives and yet it wasn't good enough for the Goodwill!

It was then that we (I) determined it had to go to the dump. It did. We have purchased 2 couches in the 12 years since then - but they just aren't the same - they haven't served our family quite like our dear old friend "the brown couch".

It would be my hope - as you read this meandering thought about the brown couch - that you add to it memories that you have.

Happy day - Karen