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I remember when my grandparents got the couch
reupholstered. I loved the new fabric,
a striped cream and celery green that was so much softer than the rough
original. I spent a lot of time on that
couch; whenever I was sick and my mother had to work, my Nana would care for me
in her home. The chickenpox, 2
pneumonias, and numerous episodes of tonsillitis and/or inner ear infections
were weathered on the couch in my grandparents’ living room.
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When I was 12 and had my tonsils and had my tonsils removed,
it was a given that I’d recover on Nana’s couch, even though my family had
moved 40 miles away by then. She’d
cover the cushions with a sheet, bring down a couple of pillows from upstairs,
and tuck me in with blankets. I still
have the plaid Hudson Bay Traders blanket with its distinctive woolly smell and
scratch. I never liked that smell, but
the blanket was an integral part of the whole get-better-on-the-couch
package. I don’t use it today, but it
serves as a fond reminder of my grandmother’s nurturing and love.
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There were fun, non-sick times on the couch, too. Eating dinner in the living room on a TV
tray, watching the evening news with my grandparents. Playing solitaire or working on one of my many art projects on
the same TV tray in the sunny afternoon quiet of the house. Late nights, after Papa went to bed, Nana
and I would eat black walnut ice cream topped with Grapenuts cereal. We snuggled up together on the couch,
watching Mary Tyler Moore reruns after the 11 o’clock news. I cherish the memories of those times, when
it was just the two of us sharing a secret treat.
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I took the couch after my grandparents died; moved it into
the new apartment I had to take after my girlfriend dumped me. It was the first time I lived alone, and it
was a scary, lonely prospect. Once
again, the couch served its purpose. It held me when I couldn’t face the
reality of going to bed alone, helping my heart to heal in the dark nights as I
lay crying into its soft, cream and celery green striped fabric.
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