The chair

My dad has always had "his chair". While it has been different colors over the years as he upgraded from one old worn out model to another, it has always been basically the same chair. A huge Lazy Boy recliner that can lay almost flat when pushed back. The chair was his place to sleep on Sunday afternoons while watching football after church, his place to relax after long days at work and long evenings following us kids around from one activity to the other during our childhood, his place to hold court to advise or lecture us, and it has been his place to hold his grandkids and nap with them on his chest (this photo is of my dad and my niece Allie from about 6 years ago).



It's a warm, comfy and sweet place. And the chair is always his...if someone else is sitting in it and my dad came into the room, it was just understood that the person would get up and return "the chair" to its' rightful owner. Dad's chair was (and still is) his, and his alone, place of rest and relaxation.

Frankly, until Kylie arrived, I never really understood the appeal of having "a chair" all to oneself. I thought it was just a cute "dad thing" but didn't actually realize the true power of the chair until I got one for myself. You see, we bought a rocker/glider for the nursery and sized it to fit both Wendy and I. In other words, it's about right for Wendy (maybe just a bit too deep for her but the ottoman helps with that) and just a bit small for me. However, in general, it's pretty comfortable....or at least that's what we thought. After Kylie came home and we began to spend countless hours in the nursery, I soon realized that the rocker we had just wasn't going to cut it for me. Besides, since we only had one chair in the room, whenever both of us were in there one of us would either sit on the floor or push in an ottoman from the living room couch or get a chair from the dining table. Ick.

So finally, after Wendy cajoled me just a bit...actually I think she said "honey, don't you think you'd like to have your very own chair in here?"... and off I went to the Chair Outlet to find myself a comfy chair. Now, this time - unlike when we were shopping for the original nursery rocker - I was searching for a chair just for me. That meant I could get the biggest, longest, deepest chair I could find without having to worry about it swallowing Wendy. And, what I found was my version of dad's chair...but now, it's "my chair"!

I love this thing! I mean really, really love it. I knew it was the chair for me when the salesperson handed me a brochure about it and it showed a picture of some 6 ft. 9 in. 300 lb. linebacker from the Green Bay Packers lounging in it and looking like he had room to spare. So, I sat in it. And I do mean that I sat "in" it...no on it. This chair is so big and roomy and cushiony that I feel like a little kid in it. Do any of you remember that bit on the old show Laugh In where Lily Tomlin played the part of 5 year old Edith Ann and sat in this huge rocking chair? (Yes, I know I'm old!) Well, my chair is big like that and it makes me feel oh so wonderful when I sit in it.



But, the best part of "my chair" is that I can hold Kylie up on my chest and lay it back and just snooze with her. She will lay on me for hours at times and I love it. I get up with her in the mornings and after I feed her, she'll often go back to sleep on my chest and we get another couple of hours of sleep in together. I l-o-v-e it!



So, now I see the appeal of "the chair"...actually it's not just that I see the appeal of having my very own chair, it's that I'm now a "my chair" addict! After all these years, I now have "my chair"...my very own chair! I highly recommend you get one of your own too....it's marvelous.

- Karen

P.S. Dad, when next you visit, be prepared to move out of "my chair" if I enter the room!