Does Your Furniture Tell A Story Too?!

     It looks like a simple chair, doesn't it?....well, set of chairs, because there's two of them. But they're not just chairs. They're little 'holders of a story'. And they've held that story for a long time. And now.....*sigh*.....what to do? What to do?! O_O

      First let me tell you their story, and then maybe you can give me a little advice.

   

        The story of these chairs is really the story of a friend of mine. A really nice lady who had a sad, sad life. She also had narcolepsy, and two impressionable sons she was trying to raise, in a household where her husband was extremely aggressive and abusive.

          One day her husband decided that he no longer wanted to be with her, and he told her to leave. She was devastated! They had been married for many, many years. It hadn't been a good marriage, but she had found solace taking care of their home, and raising her boys, helping them become respectful and loving...to the extent she could anyway, under the circumstances.

     When she told him that she wouldn't go anywhere without her sons, he beat her unmercifully and tossed her out the door. :-( She didn't have anything. Not her clothes, no money, no furniture, and not even her sons...Unfortunately, with narcolepsy, no skills, and no means to support herself or the boys, the law sided with leaving her sons with her husband. :-(

      When I met her she was living in a tiny one room apartment that didn't even have a kitchen. She had a convection oven, a hot plate, a microwave...and a smile!...which, after I heard her story, was hard for me to understand!

      She told me that after her husband tossed her out, her spiritual family had come to her rescue. She moved in with a family that lived nearby...so that she could keep an eye on her boys. She had no other recourse, at that point, anyway. And thankfully her husband was not abusive, physically anyway, with the boys. She had always been the one that was the target of his aggression.

        Every day, when her husband went to work, she would go by and take care of things and talk to the boys...He became aware, at some point, that she was doing this, but didn't make a big deal out of it, also thankfully!...I think he must've needed the help and was just to mean to acknowledge it!

        This situation went on like this for years until, one by one, her boys grew up, married, and left the home...Also during this time, she had gotten medication for her narcoleptic disorder, built up some self-esteem, and learned some skills to help her cope with her new life circumstances.

      One day she went by when she knew he would be home. She wanted him to know that she was ready to move on. He had been saying he wanted a divorce for years and she had blocked his path every way she could. She told him that she wouldn't resist him anymore if he tried to get a divorce, and she asked if she could have a few personal things from the house.

      He gave her her clothes and personal belongings right away, and said that if she came by with a moving van the next day he would let her have some of the furniture....a bed, sofa, dressers, etc...She was ecstatic!

      But when she followed the moving van to the house the next day...all she found was these two chairs sitting in the driveway. O_O When she called him about it, he said that's all she could have...period!

      She never really liked those chairs, and he knew it. But in this instance those chairs began to represent something much bigger to her...they began to represent that sometimes you have to just move on...that you can't force someone to feel for you in a way that you want them to feel, especially when they may not have the emotional wherewithal to do it! And they started to represent freedom.....acceptance of a new life...and strength!

      So, how did "I" get the chairs?!...Well, she had taken these chairs with her everywhere she had moved to. But when she had moved into the small apartment where I met her, there was no room for them. There was barely any room in that apartment for HER! LOL So she had stored them at one of her sons' homes.

       But there came a day when her son said the chairs were just in the way...and he said they were no good anyway!...By now he had nailed up the bottoms of them with wood even, to try to make them worthy of at least sitting in! But they still weren't all that great!...She didn't like that he had done that, but she didn't make a stink. 

       She couldn't bare the idea of them being thrown away though! So she asked me if I would hold onto them for her until she got a bigger place. I told her that I certainly would!...That was at least 18 years ago!

       And as life happens, we've moved two or three times since then, far away from where she lived, and her and I, not being very very close friends, haven't kept in touch. But the story of her and her chairs has been with me the whole time!

      Now, the chairs are battered and broken...having been moved around,...and moved around some more,...and having been sat in, and played in...and played on...by visiting friends, kids....and 'Baby Wuglyee' ^_^ for years now...I feel like it's time to let them go now, but I'm struggling with it because of their story. O_O

      Just yesterday, I had hubby take the chair that's in the best shape over to an antique dealer to see if they had any value, and if I could maybe sell them to someone who would love them back to life! ^_^ But the dealer practically laughed my husband out of the shop! He said they were from the 50s or 60s, but they had no value whatsoever. He suggested...well, never mind what he suggested!! LOL

     With our current situation, we really can't afford to have them re-done. I think they would be beautiful if they were. And  we don't have room for them in here anymore either...*sigh*...What to do?! What to do?!....At the moment they're making a nice place for 'Baby Wuglyee' to take a nap! :-] ....Does anybody want some chairs?!...No, really!...If you do, give me a call....They tell a story! How many pieces of furniture can do that?! :-)

     Truth is....practically all of my furniture does!! ^_^ But I'll save the story of my wooden floor model TV, my heavy blue entertainment center, and my oak dresser with the missing sister piece, for another day. :-)) ...Have a good day, Everybody! (By the way, I apologize to those of you who are used to me putting up an earlier post. Blogger was being a real stinker today!! Grrr!)

I Love To Tell A Story!  

Don't pay me any attention
when I scoff at this or that.
I love to tell a story!
Even the wanderings of a gnat.

If somebody breaks a nail,
(all the gory details left out)
I love to tell the story!
Really, what is that all about?!

I'm even ready for a saga
if a trip somewhere is planned.
I love to tell a story
about bad food and parking bans!

I just love to tell a story!
It's a lifetime love of words.
And a wordless Wednesday blog?
Around here, that's for the birds!