I miss writing so much. It is really something that relaxes
me and makes me happy. I really love writing on this blog. And I have missed
it. Now often it is once a week and sometimes even more times passes without
writing. I am making other choices (mostly involving tons of work and Christmas
shopping and seeing friends on weekends in December) they are good choices but
I still miss my blog. I hope I can find a way soon to integrate it back into my
life the way it used to be. I am using my creativity in many other places for work. Working as an entrepreneur has lots of pros, but
one of them is not time. Flexibility yes but not time. Working in an office is
much much more predictable. This whole new schedule and lawyers and accounting
and incorporation and invoicing and driving all over the city and travelling on
planes and trains- are throwing my life off more than a little.
And I (mostly) love itJ
So living room chairs have been on my mind lately. Ours in
particular. About 8 yrs. ago we had a decorator help us with the décor of our Livingroom.
Originally we were going to go for the Fairmont hotel looks of fireplace, deep
burnt oranges and warm reds-a little mustards yellow thrown in, patterned
striped chairs and dark walls. This is not a joke: our decorator threatened to
quit.
She convinced us that peace and serenity and beauty are in
the timeless classics of beiges and neutrals and that if we felt the need of
some reds and oranges to throw in a cushion. What she designed is beautiful and I
adore that room. Even our cushion is in classic striped silk beiges and creams
and I love the relaxed way I feel in that room. Unlike a hotel reception with a
fireplace where I cozy up for 2-3 hrs and read a book in the warm reds and
yellows….I have to live in my house. And
creams and beiges, greys and whites and lots of soft aqua is where I feel best
to live & love. By far. With a lot
of colourful and cozy accessories. These colors comfort and calm us.
Our decorator suggested we have 4 custom made Livingroom
chairs made two in a cozier velour fabric with footrests matching and two more
classic linen wings tipped ones. (All in beige or taupe). At the time I did not
get why custom made and so expensive, but she convinced us that is important
that you have furniture that will last a lifetime and be able to pass down to
your children. So we went for it! (not sure our kids will care about our chairs
when we die but found reasonable enough at the time!)
So they were made (wish I had a picture but I am not at home
right now) . All four are comfy and gorgeous and beautiful. And the point of
this blog? Only one gets sat in. Well actually two. Three of us only choose one
and Hubby chooses another. One of us is not attached to any of the chairs. Weird
eh? There is the favorite in that
room. And even if it has its matching twin right across from in positioned exactly
the same way sideways to the fireplace with a same matching footrest three of
us choose “ the” chair.
For me it is working in that chair. I am mostly at my desk
as have an office in our home on the first floor with a big window facing out
to the front yard (probably the biggest reason we bought house 16 yrs. ago was
that office that we knew one day would be inhabited ) but at least four hours
of any workday I am in that chair . I run the gas fireplace too and it is so cozy.
I put my feet out and put a blanket on top of me and have my lists and lists
and lists in front of me and my laptop. I rehearse my presentations on that
chair, plan our life, and speak to my clients. I discipline our kids from that chair
and discuss our marriage. I make good and bad decisions from that chair. When I
am at the gym in the mornings I dream of coming home to that chair and drinking
a smoothie and texting and email on my phone with a blanket on top of me. That chair
is a huge benefit of working from home.
It is (was!) my
chair.
Beauty loves it too. She speaks to her BFF on facetime on
that chair and falls asleep on the phone with her BFF on that chair. She opens
her Bday gifts on that chair and wraps her cozy Arie blanket around her shoulders
on that chair and eats snacks (even though in theory no food in that room.
Baskets C!) She reads her school books on that chair and texts her friends on that
chair. When she needs a timeout (yes even at 14 yrs!!) she chooses that chair.
Bear? Doesn’t care what chair he sits in. He is mostly
sitting on the basement sofa he chose from Ikea playing video games or out
doing sports or watching sports or eating at cage des sports and watching
sports with his friends. He sits in whatever chair is available.
Hubby has (had) his on chair. It is diagonal to the one we
have and made of linen in taupe. It is winged tipped and actually has a stain
from his hair resting on it (eww) from all of these years it been sat in the
exact same position. He still sits in in now. He still chooses it. He still really
likes it. But it is not his anymore. He gave it up in lots of ways but still visits
in here and there in a comfortable way.
That used to be the chair that every day he came home from
work in to have a drink. A vodka martin (or two) with olives to be specific . I
would sit across in my chair and talk about our day. It was a realizing, predictable,
comforting time of day and something to look forward to. But it didn’t work
anymore for us or for our family and when he gave up drinking totally he also
gave up his chair in many ways. He had to. We knew the chair would be the first
thing to go. It was hard but he got through. Now he sits on that chair again,
not necessarily at the end of the day but at various times of the day. He sits
in it now in a different way, in a different mood, in a different space. And
our routine at the end of the day has been replaced by other things we like to
do. We use our room more, we cuddle more, we watch more TV, and we do more
things with the kids and more stuff around the house. His chair won’t be the
legacy but it will always be remembered as part of our history. In all our
minds that chair will always be where the family hero sat. We respect him so deeply
for giving up his chair for us.
As you can see these chairs is a rich part of our family.
And our history.
Why do we all (3/5)
choose the same chair? Is it better than the other chairs? No! Is it different than
the other 3 chairs? Not at all! Is it better located or situated or closer to
the fire? Nope!
I think we get comfort from the fact that we all like it. It
bonds us. It is predictable. We like that others sit in it too. Even if it is
all unconscious. And the two who haven’t needed to sit in that chair yet maybe
they are just waiting for the right moment in time to need it. Our decorator
was right-the chair has become a legacy. Our legacy. It is our chair and it is
special and it is priceless. Life happens from that chair. It brings peace and
comfort and predictability to our lives.
It is the legacy chair
after all that it was intended to be.
