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At The Picket Fence with Vanessa Hunt

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November 8, 2018

When You Can’t All Fit on the Couch Anymore

There are a million little moments throughout parenting which go by with no notice, no fanfare and yet are significant milestones deserving of being acknowledged.

I don’t remember the exact day when I carried my daughter up the stairs for the last time. Or the day when my son took his last swing between me and my husband as we walked down the street, laughing and giggling as we all shouted ‘ONE, TWO, THREE!’ and we lifted him up high in the air.

And I can’t remember exactly when my family of four stopped fitting comfortably together on our couch but, one day, we just all found ourselves squished together. And while I’m all for closeness this was a little bit too close, especially when you consider the extra odors that come with tweens/teens.

We did have extra chairs in the room, but they weren’t the kind of comfy, plunk down, cozying up kind of chairs that you really should have in a family room.

After many an evening of attempting to watch TV together while getting elbowed and fighting over the corner spots, I had had enough and determined to expand our seating options and give us all some breathing (and better smelling!) room.

It took a little bit of looking around to find exactly what I was looking for. They needed to be plunk-down-able and fit in with all of the other pieces in the room. I was tempted to get something totally neutral but, honestly, I’ve been feeling like I’m needing to bring in a tad more color and pattern so when I found these beauties on the Pier One website I was pretty sure they would fit the bill.

And I was thrilled to discover that they carried them in our local store so I could go plunk down in them myself to make sure they were just the right balance of cozy, comfy and pretty.

The striped seersucker material gives them a casual touch while the tufting and the nailhead trim add just the right elegance.

Now, wouldn’t you know, everyone is fighting to see who gets to sit in the new comfy chairs.

But, mama gets first dibs because I’m the one who solved the problem, after all!

It’s strange to me to think that right now, in this stage of parenting, there are other ‘lasts’ taking place which I’m not even aware of. I suppose that simply being in the moment is really how we get through when time is flying by so quickly.

I’m sure that someday I’ll look back and miss the last time we all squished on the couch together.

But, I gotta tell ya, right now I’m pretty happy having my new comfy chair all to myself!

7 Comments Filed Under: Decorating Tagged With: decorating, family room

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Comments

  1. Marijean says

    November 8, 2018 at 8:45 PM

    I love these chairs. I wish I would have purchased these instead of the ones I got. I agree, they are comfy too.

    Reply
    • At The Picket Fence says

      November 8, 2018 at 8:48 PM

      Thank you Marijean!

      Reply
  2. laura janning says

    November 9, 2018 at 2:22 AM

    you are so right. we have a sectional and ‘squish ‘ together for as long as we can…and they will let us. the chairs are super pretty. they look great in your room.

    Reply
    • At The Picket Fence says

      November 13, 2018 at 3:34 PM

      Thanks girl!! The squishing worked for awhile but now that my son is bigger than my husband it was getting a bit too tight. LOL!

      Reply
  3. Linda says

    November 9, 2018 at 7:02 AM

    Then comes the fresh new season of special friends and spouses then grands! Will be stopping at pier 1 today.

    Reply
    • At The Picket Fence says

      November 13, 2018 at 3:34 PM

      You are so right Linda! I’m trying to embrace each new season and just enjoy the moments. Thank you so much for stopping by!

      Reply
  4. Deb Long says

    March 5, 2019 at 3:38 PM

    Love it! But you are correct…one day you will look back and miss the times when you all had to squish yourselves onto the couch. But at least you can pour over memories from a pretty sweet little striped chair!

    Reply

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Yesterday on the way home from school I had the ra Yesterday on the way home from school I had the radio tuned to my daughter's favorite station and a song that was playing had a line in it that really stood out to me. It made reference to a 'season of the sticks' which I think its safe to say must mean winter. I thought that was such an accurate, albeiet kind of depressing, picture of this time of the year.

While we definitely have more than our fair share of evergreen trees here in Oregon, we also have plenty of trees and bushes that are reduced to sticks during the cold months. But, this morning as I looked out my kitchen window, greedily sipping from my mug of coffee, I marveled at the beauty of the winter sunrise. The sky was all pinks and oranges with frost on the rooftops and a little bit of fog. And, I realized that part of why it was so amazing is because I could see it more clearly through the sticks. The bare branches allowed me a view that I wouldn't be able to see if those same branches were covered in leaves. Being stripped down to almost nothing revealed something magnificent.

We have seasons of the sticks in our lives too, don't we? Times when we feel as though we've been stripped bare and left exposed. It's easy to think that this is a place where all is ugly and dark. And yet, just like the winter sunrise was more visible because of the bare branches, the vulnerability we feel in the winter season of our souls allows us to get a glimpse of beauty that we wouldn't see otherwise. In the lush, warm seasons it's so easy to become comfortable. But in the bare, cold seasons we recognize just how much we need to rely on the One who placed the stars in the heavens and is sovereign over all.

If you feel like your soul has been stripped bare and you've been left exposed and vulnerable, may I encourage you today to ask the Lord to help you to see the beauty in this 'season of the sticks'.

“Answer me quickly, O Lord! My spirit fails! Hide not your face from me, lest I be like those who go down to the pit. Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul." Psalm 143:7
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