A Birthday Story...so to speak

I figure today is the best time to explain the story of the Blue Patched Couch. Why? Since most will likely be reading on Sept 30, and that is the birthday of our good friend Amber (who is the original owner of the couch), it just fits.

When my husband and I were just dating, we went through the standard "meet the friends" routine. This can be a dicey dance. If it goes bad, no matter how late into the courtship, it can be problematic. I believe with all my heart that even if my husband were never in the picture, Amber and Eric (her husband) would be my good friends. I have often joked, half-kidding and half-serious, that I had more trouble adjusting to Amber's move out of town (which horribly coincided with my roommate Kerry's move out of town) than I did to married life. I still miss them both terribly.

In the apartment I shared with Kerry we had what had to be the ugliest, least comfortable sleeper sofa on the planet. It was, not surprisingly, a hand me down. It was in excellent condition when we got it, but it really looked like what you might describe a migrane or nausea if you needed color coding. It was that bad.

As Amber got to know me, and by default my roommates, we all became fast friends. When Amber & Eric bought new furniture for their apartment, they offered to give us the old one, along with a matching love seat and a futon. The couch and love seat were blue with yellow check boxes. A nice comfy couch from Ikea, gently worn. No holes. No smells. Perfect for sleeping on, even if it wasn't a sofa bed.

That gift was six years ago.

Since then it has moved twice. I have patched three rips, and there are two more that are ready for work. My son has slept on it probably as much as I have. We have spilled every food and drink imaginable on it. It is wonderful. I love this couch. I slept on it a few weeks ago when the fog horn (read: my husband's snoring) went off full throttle. Even if we win Powerball, we will never part with this couch, its that comfortable!

If it weren't for Amber & Eric's generosity, we would likely still have the god-awful-ugly couch (the main theme was gold). Admittedly, Amber (and Eric) are two of kind. She co-hosted my baby shower. They put us on "scholarship" in Vegas and flew us to visit them in their new city. Since their initial move away in 2004, one could argue they have moved again ...(and again, and again, and again). But no matter how far apart we are, we see that couch and think of them.

The money saving tip from this is two-fold. 1) Find good friends who will literally share everything they have with you. If that's not possible, 2) scour Craigslist or freecycle.org, you are bound to find free items that you need, that others are willing to part with.

Happy Birthday Amber, we miss ya!