Getting Rid of the Old

I know you might find this silly but I am actually a little sad to get rid of our old couch. Why? Honestly, this was one of the first pieces of furniture that we purchased together back when we first moved in together. That was 8 years ago and since then, it has seen us through many trying times. Back in 2002, it served as my comfort zone and bed as Greg lay in a hospital very ill and on a ventilator. The cordless phone was always above my head on the cushy arm of the couch so that, should the hospital call in the middle of the night, I can easily grab it on the first ring. Ironically, a couple of times they did call in the middle of the night; first to tell me he was put on the ventilator and second, two weeks later, to tell me he was back on the ventilator after being successfully removed for a few hours. The warm and cozy back of this couch served to replace the feeling of my husband sleeping next to me. I couldn't even imagine sleeping in the bed without him.

When Greg came home 9 weeks after that episode, it became a living area by day and a bed by night for him. His home ventilator and tons of medical machines were all propped up beside the couch and that is where he lived for another 6 months - on that couch. It was a far cry from the hospital beds or being cooped up in the small bedroom by himself. It served as a central point of living in our tiny apartment and Greg wouldn't miss out on anything happening around there.

After he got off the ventilator, it served as a place we could once again snuggle. No machines lay between us and my head could once again be rested on his chest to listen to the crackling of his very sick lungs. Quite honestly, I didn't care about the noise they made for at that moment, he was alive and we were holding each other warmly on our oversized couch.

Then in December 2004, it was once again the place where I was able to lay my head upon his chest but, this time there was no crackling. It was the sound of clean, new, and quite healthy lungs that I heard. As I looked up into his eyes, for the first time his cheeks were rosy. There was life and life was good.

Alas, now it is time for us to part with our beloved couch. It takes up to much space in our house and, given that I am allergic to dust mites and he has new lungs, a fabric couch is not the healthiest thing for us to have. So, it is with a heavy heart that we sell our couch but we have a new couch from which to create more memories... With tons of life to live and life to be had.