The Couch

I have not considered myself a very worldly person over the last 58 years.  All I owned I could fit in my house back in Alabama.  I probably held on to things a little longer than I should have but nonetheless, I personally feel that people are more important than things.

Once in a while, though,  I have had to deal with a material possession that I could not let go. Just recently it was with a piece of furniture I will call "the couch".  This was not any ordinary couch.  It was the couch my grandparents had in their home back in Brooklyn over 75 years ago. I remember where it sat in my grandmother's apartment. I remember playing on it with my "Colorforms" set.

My mother took possession of this couch after both grandparents passed away and had it reupholstered which looked beautiful in her home. Then, when she passed away, my father took it along with him to Kansas City to live with my brother and his family.
After a few years, my brother's family moved to Kaysville, Utah for a job promotion and they took the couch with them all the while not really using it as it was stuck in the basement or garage.

So when I had the chance to take the couch home to Alabama on a trip to Utah, I did.  I knew that I would eventually reupholster the thing to fit into my house's decor so I covered it with several tarps and left it in the carport.  It should have never been there for as long as it was but I just never got to it.

When I finally did bring it into my living room, this couch had sat through 3 hurricanes and countless tropical storms.  It took on a musty smell that I tried to get rid of but it never really left. (and believe me I tired everything possible)  Not having enough money for a professional to transform this marvelous piece of furniture, I would put covers over it in the living room and sit on it; but it was no use.  It needed a whole knew start and I couldn't do it.

So now I'm in a 2 bedroom apartment in Mesa, Arizona with a much smaller living room and I just had to face reality: I could not keep this couch. Especially when the legs were now different sizes so it waddled when we sat it in which made marks on the new linoleum floor AND it was somewhat uncomfortable to sit on it, to boot.  I just had to get rid of it and get something else.

I advertised this beauty on many different websites but no takers. It's really an upholsterers delight but I didn't know any; upholsters, that is.  So last night, my friend and I picked it up and placed it in the back of my truck and drove to the local thrift store for them to sell it.  I almost waved good-bye as the man at the thrift store wheeled it through the drop off area in the back of the store. It was like an old friend was leaving for good. Sigh...

Maybe an antique expert will spy it there and do it justice by reupholstering it into the beautiful piece of furniture it should be. Maybe someone will appreciate it's woodwork beauty on the top and arms and find a place in their home for others to lounge as I did in my grandmother's apartment.  One could only hope.

For now, I just think about having that couch for as long as I did and hoping my grandmother isn't too upset with me for giving it away.

Going Back to School Late

When I attended Brigham Young University back in '79, I was on my way to a bachelor's degree.  I just graduated with an Associates Degree from a junior college and wanted to finish what I had started.  But by the next year (my senior year) I was so burned out, I lost the vision I had when I started. Add to my burn-out my engagement to be married and I did pretty lousy my last semester. I didn't finish but always thought that some day I would. Well, that day has arrived. I started my first class this semester to finish my degree but changed my focus.  Before my focus was Childhood Education with Special Education classes along with Speech Pathology.  I was learning a lot about teaching and counseling which was really fascinating. I actually used all that I learned to home school my own children and teach classes in private education cooperatives so that education did not go to waste but I needed to focus on something else.

In my present day, I thought about all that I had accomplished and what degree would best help serve me right now and I came to the conclusion that if I finished in English, I can then improve my writing and possibly acquire a writing/editing job which I love doing. I feel that I have been called to write about the strength of the family but need to expand my skills.  I have come a long way since I first started writing but I didn't have the command of the English language as I should have from attending college.  It just lacked polish. So now I am doing something that I should have finished a long time ago.

I'm not the only one who has finished education pursuits later in life.. There are many adults who want to improve their lives by finishing or even starting something after the age of 40. This next list of statistics was shown on Facebook written by Joy Raskie and it is very inspiring.

Joy Raskie

May 16, 2016

Julia Child released her first cookbook at age 39, and got her own cooking show at age 51.
Vera Wang failed to make the Olympic figure skating team, didn’t get the Editor-in-Chief position at Vogue, and designed her first dress at age 40.
Stan Lee didn’t release his first big comic book until he was 40.
Alan Rickman gave up his graphic design career to pursue acting at age 42.
Samuel L. Jackson didn’t get his first movie role until he was 46.
Morgan Freeman landed his first MAJOR movie role at age 52.
Kathryn Bigelow only reached international success when she made 

The Hurt Locker at age 57.

Grandma Moses didn’t begin her painting career until age 76.
Louise Bourgeois didn’t become a famous artist until she was 78.
Whatever your dream is, it is not too late to achieve it. You aren’t a failure because you haven’t found fame and fortune by the age of 21. Hell, it’s okay if you don’t even know what your dream is yet. Even if you’re flipping burgers, waiting tables or answering phones today, you never know where you’ll end up tomorrow.
Never tell yourself you’re too old to make it.
Never tell yourself you missed your chance.
Never tell yourself that you aren’t good enough.
You can do it. Whatever it is."

Whatever it is that we want to do, we can do. It takes patience, determination and some hard work but we can do it. I have 9 more classes to get through before I finish but I will finish.Then the sky is the limit....for all of us.