The Couch

You should see our couch. The set-up of our small California home is such that the couch kind of dominates the whole room when you walk in. It is, in fact, the most prominent piece of furniture in the place. We have no playroom or basement (of course, we do have a backyard and daily opportunity to play out there), so the living room/kitchen open floorplan means all the playing in the house happens on that couch, or in front of that couch, or sometimes mid-air above that couch.

It was Paul's bachelor couch way back when a lifetime ago, and at one time it was a very handsome and elegantly large piece of furniture. Then he met me and his life changed and so did the insouciant style of his couch. The fine soft leather is scratched from numerous cat pounces and pencil pokes. The color is so sun faded and stained that I can't even identify the exact shade it once was. And, I admit it's a little lumpy in places.

But, oh, the adventures we have on this couch are wild and wonderful.

The cushions come apart in so many different ways that we've built forts, spaceships, submarines and lately pirate ship after pirate ship. The other day Elliot spent all morning sailing the ocean blue in search of buried treasure on that couch.


I fear that one day, Owen will simply put his foot through the bottom with one ill-fated jump, or Elliot will take out a sharpie and practice writing his name on the cushions over and over and over again. But, until that last fatal blow, we are destined for more pirate adventures aboard this couch, the center of our home.

Sometimes, it's just the perfect place to jump into the waves and pretend to be a sea lion: