Bye-Bye, Sofa

I've been trying not to get emotional about stuff we're tossing out as we get closer and closer to The Big Remodel. I keep saying it feels good to unload piles of material things which have accumulated over the years.

But last night was kind of tough. We hauled the old sofa and swivel rocker to the curb, and right about now, the trash company crew should be pitching them into the truck.

Both pieces of furniture were well-worn. The sofa's upholstery crapped out years ago, and even the slipcover we applied to hide that fact was wearing out. The chair? You could see the wooden frame in places where the fabric and the padding had vanished.

I grew up with this furniture: it belonged to my parents, who'd passed it along to us when we bought our first house 25 years ago. We reupholstered both pieces then, and I'm sure they could live another 25 years with another reupholstery job.

That furniture figures in many mental snapshots of the last quarter-century: Our newborn baby daughter propped up on the sofa. My mom sitting in the rocker, holding one of the kids. My wife stretched out for a snooze on the sofa.

I know it's just wood and wire and fabric. But I can't help hoping the old furniture gets another shot at life somewhere. It's earned it.