Summer 1998
At the end of the summer I had a new job at a place that was around the corner from where we lived on Second Street, the Traffic Jam & Snug. It was a great place to work. The people were friendly, we were able to wear jeans & it was perfect for the college student to work shifts for a living. I really loved it there.
While there I mentioned to a co-worker how we had no real furniture. We had a bed and that was about it. We still had no living room furniture. She offered an old couch that she had.
Apparently she had been holding on to it, but really needed to let it go. She had no use for it and it seemed more out of sentimental value she kept it. She had gotten it with her ex and while the relationship had ended the couch lingered on.
I jumped at the offer of a couch. When she mentioned it was old, big and red I didn’t mind. We had painted our living room red. Yes, red. As in a deep dark red with the big windows that stretched all the way up and hard wood floor it felt very chic. Even if the neighborhood wasn’t so chic.
I came home that night and shared my excitement. Of course he also was excited about the idea of furniture. Any furniture. The ability to sit on a couch and eat sounded akin to the ability to lay on the beach on a tropical island. Pure relaxing heaven.
That weekend the couch was picked up. Oh, my word!!
It was not just old, big and red but it was heavy.
The memories of trying to lift that thing, get it out of where she had stored it and it get it into the apartment are seared in our brains. I think it’s what emergency crews who show up to help 800 lb men out of their homes must deal with.
But in the end we had a couch. It wasn’t the prettiest thing you ever saw, but it was ours. Now we could eat on the couch instead of the floor. Piece by piece. It was coming together.
[this is part of my “how I met your father” series]
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
I love those stories. All of our furniture was hand me downs when we first started out too.
I would love to see a pic of that big red couch.
You know I love this series. I don’t know what I’m going to do when you catch up to the present.
I had to get rid of a big ugly red couch once. It was harder than disposing of a dead body.
Our living room furniture is still hand me downs…we have a hide-a-bed from when my husband was a kid and a sofa from my grandma, complete with “grandma print”. (I wish it was red!)
That first furniture is always some classic stuff. Too bad there’s no picture! We had some seriously fugly furniture too.