heirloom

My Uncles are in town!  Uncles that are normally not in town.  My dad has five brothers- and three of them were here last week all together.  My grandfather is not doing well health-wise and so there were many serious discussions and big decisions made over the last few days.  

But there were also opportunities to reminisce.  And one of the shared memories all the 'boys had, was of this couch:

Solid wood with worn-velvet cushions.  Ornamental legs and wicker panels... its a beast of a piece of furniture:

My grandmother always smiled when she talked about how her little boys would use this couch as a crib and playpen.

But the boys have different memories...

Memories of waiting, lined up on the couch for discipline and scoldings... for sitting, waiting for their father to get home to deliver the punishment and then unexpectedly bursting into giggles at some childish joke- only to have their 'time-out' extended.

'Couch-talk' went on one night for several hours- the boys grimacing as they shared about various forms of corporal punishment they endured... and instead of directing hurt toward their parents, this couch seemed to receive the blame.

So we dragged it outside and made them all pose for a family portrait with 'The Couch.'

And despite the 'not-so-fond' memories, all the brothers mentioned how they wouldn't mind inheriting The Couch someday...

I caught a rare smile from both of my grandparents here...

Funny how furniture can take on a life of its own... funny how it can be interwoven into our histories and take on a personality without us even realizing it...

Does your family have anything like this?  

-CtF