September 29, 1999
DOWN HOME:
Our old comfy chair felt
like a part of the family
___Our old tan chair has departed. It's gone to that sweet den out yonder, where cookies never crumble, falling pizza always lands crust-side down and grape Kool-Aid never, ever stains.
___ Of course, we know we shouldn't get attached to "things," but we're going to miss that big ol' galoot. It represented far more than seating comfort. More even than wood and corduroy and stuffing and pencil stubs, cracker crumbs, paper clips, book markers and various other tidbits that made a home in its deep crevasses.
___Joanna and I have been relaxing in that chair longer than we've owned just abouteverything except our wedding rings and our good silverware, the stuff we only haul out when company comes for dinner.
MARV KNOX
Editor
___We bought that chair the first year we were married. As soon as we scraped together enough money, we went down to Penney's, picked it out and waited anxiously for its arrival.
___What an old friend. It outlasted six vehicles, eight places of abode, three VCRs, two TVs and a dog.
___Of course, we know we shouldn't get attached to "things," but that ol' chair's almost been part of the family. Did I say we're going to miss it?
___It was low and cushy and extra-wide. And when Jo and I were younger and, um, much more svelte, we cuddled away many evenings in its coziness.
___Throughout our marriage, it's been the retreat of choice when anybody has gotten sick. No telling how many nights it comforted Jo or me through colds and flu. And when our girls, Lindsay and Molly, got sick, they headed straight for the big ol' comfy chair.
___The girls also commandeered it as a family-room hangout. I'll always be able to close my eyes and see Lindsay, sunk in its recesses, working algebra problems. Likewise, I'll always be able to picture Molly's inverted use of the chair--her feet up on its back, lying on her belly with her head on the matching ottoman. Shouldn't everyone watch TV practically upside-down?
___Lately, our dog, Betsy, declared the ottoman her fiefdom. Forget doggie beds; she consistently leaped to its plumpness for her evening naps.
___That development probably spelled the ol' chair's doom. For too long, we haven't been able to scrub out all the stains. And if the breeze were just right, you weren't sure if you were smelling the chair or the dog. So, sometime this summer, Jo decreed that the chair had to go.
___Now, we've got a big recliner and a half. Looks like a tweed throne. Some day, I'll probably get used to it.
___Of course, we know we shouldn't get attached to "things," but that ol' chair reminds me of some of the ways God intended families to be--comfortable and comforting, open and embracing, forgiving and resilient.
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