Is it Cheap or Bad Parenting???

I wouldn’t call myself cheap…perhaps discerning…but not cheap…I’ve been accused of having short arms…My girlfriends have always had to TELL me how much to tip. (Actually I think that is because my math is so bad). I always buy the store brand..but i'm not opposed to Name Brand if it tastes better. Yes, i cut out and taped in a notebook ads for grocery items i purchased often and i happily paged through my notebook and waited for the cashier to void and reprice my items in the check out line... And Walmart didn't stop me for over a month...when finally they told me...that I had to use the current grocery flier. ( this was innocent on my part..i didnt' know the rules) I keep tags on new clothes until i wear them so that if the item goes on sale..i can return for credit. NOW on the other hand..I am a big believer in good shoes and good bags. I'm a Born fan and of course i love Kate Spade bags...and i also have looked at some My Flat In London bags. so, i'm not opposed to spending money on some things!

I’ve been of the opinion that the only time that a family can get new furniture is when the youngest child turns four. I dont' know if this is being cheap...or if it is bad parenting???

With our wedding money we purchased new living room furniture...sleeper sofa, love seat and large cocktail table. They were in that Southwest design that was all the rage in the early 90’s. (haven’t been able to buy anything in a Jewel Tone for years now) The fabric and structure turned out to be worth it’s salt because that couch not only provided us comfort in our first apartment…but it also stood in as Douglas’ bed for 18 months in Pittsburgh. (his efficiency wasn’t big enough for a bed) When we bought our first home. along came that furniture. It hosted our first Christmas dinner….it withstood countless bottle drips and cereal accidents. I was comfortable living on and around the couch. Sure it was old…but it was still the only living room furniture we had.

As a new mom, I was learning (from those around me) what the standard rules were for a home. No food in the bedrooms…. shoes get removed at the front door….all crayons and paint sets are held under lock and key….the kitchen table is the only place to eat ice cream etc. I had much anxiety as a young mom…these rules were too much for me or at the very least foreign to me. My mom and I ate in the living room every night in front of the TV. I don’t recall having a ‘rug’ by the front door nor do I remember having to ask for my crayons. (yes, I know,..you are all thinking ‘well of course you did..YOU were an ONLY child) at this point in my early parenthood. I ONLY had ONE child…so withhold your judgments of my parenting until the end of this post.

Therefore…my kid was able to be free with her ice cream and her crayons. AND because the couch wasn’t new…I didn’t have that much worry about it being ruined. It wasn’t perfect…it showed some wear and I just didn’t worry about the couch. Along comes child number two…yes,,,I gain some perspective on structured activities and admit that being the natzi food mom occurred to me from time to time..but alas…I just didn’t worry about the couch. It was holding up just fine…and now it had a dog and a new baby to comfort and hold.

Time goes on….number two child turns four and I realize that the children have enough self control… that with a few rules…the opportunity for fabric altering events were much diminished. Off to Lazarus I go….i specifically go the section that has Special Order returns. It is my observation that you can get ‘original’ furniture in that section…as these are pieces that customers specifically designed but didn’t wind up taking. I found the perfect Plumb velour double humped couch with wooden legs. Along with that two sitting chairs in a Tiger print and a like colored area rug to pull it all together. It was cool!!

Fast forward 6 years. The Plumb couch turned out to be a dog hair magnet and I was constantly having to Ducktape the cushions. We move into our much bigger second home and have to get real family room furniture. Well, baby number three started cook’n soon after we moved in so I didn’t want to go spend money on new furniture. SO…we went through a hand me down pit group from a friend of doug’s and then wound up with the sectional that my mom and Bert had purchased with their First home…some 13 years prior. Mom’s sectional was thread bear but comfortable and livable with a baby on the way. And then comes baby four and a big move out of state – into a rental no less …NOT the time to be looking at new furniture.

This poor ol sectional now has four kids and two grown ups to contend with. It is well loved but well worn……I mean…really well worn…..the fabric became so thread bare in spots that it actually pulled apart. I started finding little pieces of stuffing on my floor, and then little pieces of foam….I flipped over a cushion to look for the remote and low and behold…my beloved sectional had lost its grip….and then another cushion and then another. It reminded me of how when one light bulb goes…you can be that three more are right behind it. It really looked bad…it kind of reminded me of the sofas you see discarded around college campus’ at the end of the spring term. It got to me enough that I started to devote brain time to what I was going to do about it. Of course…it is tax time and all the furniture stores are offering 2 years same as cash…very tempting…but ..been there/done that..i won’t pay it off b4 the 2 years are up..and then I’ll wind up having tons of money owed in interest…could go to consignment shops…but…when I thought about all the things that have happened on my couch…and thinking that some stranger probably has done the same…I got skeeved….

SO

I turn myself into the Domestic Goddess today. I made my mind up yesterday that I was going to ‘fix’ my poor sofa cushions. I got Mr. K all ready for school and when I arrived there..i realized that I was the only van in the parking lot and he didn’t have school today…man….this had the potential to throw my mission off track.
Back home..snack and put Lu to bed for her nap.
I take out the sewing tin (yes, our sewing things are in an old cookie tin) and I grab a pillowcase out of my linen closet. I get my scissors and I clear a space for myself on the dining room table. and begin my work.
Two of the cushions had really big gaping wounds and then there were just some small holes on two other cushions. I decided to dive right into one of the large cushions.
I cut a rectangle out of the pillowcase that would cover the hole.
I stood the cushion up on a dining room chair as that made it easier for me to hold onto it. I got into a groove and stayed there for three hours…as I sewed (very badly I might add) my mind wandered about.


I fantasized about Ma darning a sock with Pa sitting in front of the fire…just putting away his fiddle and giving her a sly little wink and ushering HalfPint and Mary up to the loft. ..oh Pa…he was so handsome…manly.. yet sensitive…good with tools and musical instruments!!..Yes,,,I totally had a crush on Pa…(Michael Landon). HONK IF YOU CRUSH ON PA gee, would Pa think I was being a good wife/?J

My back started aching and I thought about all those people who work ‘on a line’ in a factory or assembly plant. Man, they must live on ibuprofen.

My fingers started to sting from the needle..and I reminded myself of the fact that I thought Home Economics class was like getting my teeth pulled.

I really began to think how crazy this couch is going to look.

Who cares if I’m cheap…I’m putting a lot of love into this effort and I’m not spending any money doing it…

Then I thought…OH MY GOSH…IT’S THE COUCH OF MANY COLOURS. (a spin off of Dolly Parton’s song Coat of Many Colors)


I laughed and laughed out loud as I finished the last cushion.
It doesn’t look that bad…
well, alright…it does look like a patch job…