As I was thoroughly vacuuming the couch set to get it ready for its new home, it prompted memories of where this couch and I have been. (It is quite amazing how something like a piece of furniture can make you reminisce about your past.) When I first bought the couch set, I was 25 years-old, full of hope and excitement for my future, which was just about to take a giant leap into adulthood. I was engaged to be married and my fiance and I had just rented a brand new apartment with an awesome view of a river. I was so young and excited about life. The world was my oyster; there was so much I wanted to accomplish and experience; it was all so exciting and promising.
The couch set was very inexpensive, but I have to say, it has held up extremely well over the 20 years I have had it (if only the marriage had that longevity). But alas, that was not the case and by my first anniversary I was ready for a divorce. Hence, two years after bringing my new couch home, I moved it with me to a much older apartment, on the west side (from the east side), in a much less excited view of the world. In fact, the view at that time had been a stressful and depressed view; however, as I was still young, I was still hopeful and excited about a new start in life.
A couple of years later, my couch and I moved into our first home with a new fiance. This was not a new home, but it was thrilling none-the-less because we were now homeowners! A year and a half later, we welcomed twins into the world and three and a half years after that, we welcomed a third daughter. Due to more than doubling the size of our family, six years after buying our first home, we were ready to move into a bigger house back on the east side of town. So my couch made the exciting journey into a newer and bigger house with me and my family.
The past 20 years with this couch have seen me through early adulthood into middle adulthood (aka midlife ... which is a whole other topic ... who knew mid-life was the 40s...I always thought mid-life crises were for people in their mid-50s...but not so much with me.). As I was vacuuming the couch set, I thought back about the past 20 years and all that I have experienced; the roads taken and the roads not taken; the good and the bad; the ups and the downs. There have been many fun, wonderful, exciting times during those 20 years, as well as extremely difficult, stressful, and even depressing times. But it comes down to the fact that we only have one life to live and it is ours alone; no one else can live it for us; it is up to us to live a life that is true to us and lived to its fullest potential. I am working on that; I feel that I am not quite there, but am striving to live my best life and a life true to who I am.
As I have written this blog, I realize that every move I made with my couch, to a new residence, was a time of excitement and hope for a better future. I have no complaints. My life thus far has been a good one. I am blessed with three, smart, amazing, and beautiful daughters. I have a husband who is a wonderful father to those three girls. We all have our health. My mom lives nearby and loves my girls a ton; my two sisters are enjoying life in sunny Florida; I am blessed with many good friends and neighbors. So despite the fact that some days are hard, I truly realize how lucky I am to have made it 43 years with the health and life I have. Here's to another 40 years, with new experiences, new hopes, new dreams, and if I'm lucky, new dependable furniture. And to the new family that is now the owner of this couch set, I send them love and wonderful life experiences and many, many good years and memories with this couch! Without further ado, here is today's inspiration:
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| The couch that talked without saying a word. |
So little did I know what the journey of saying yes to a kitten was going to take me on.
Nostalgically Yours,
Me
Motivational Moment:
Today was an unbelievably beautiful, fall day. The weather was a gorgeous 65 sunny degrees and the sky and fall foliage were perfect. Despite the fact that I had tons of household chores on my to-do list (including garage sale clean up!), I made a date with the park. My three daughters and I headed out to spend an hour basking in the glory of today. We walked the 2-mile circuit around the lake and also took the time to just sit on a bench and take in the beauty surrounding us. I know that winter will be here all too soon (and I will be in my house under a blanket trying to take off the chill); but for today, I am very happy to say that I seized the moment to stop and smell the roses. Here are a few pics from my walk:
Wishing you beautiful days and time to enjoy them.
Hugs,
SG
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