The Extreme Joy from a New Chair

As much as I love my living room set, the reality is that if my back is not feeling well, lying on my couch is not a good place for me due to a disc issue. If I am there vertically, it’s fine, but horizontally, it doesn’t support me in exactly the right spots. And if Ivy the Wonder Cat decides to join me and sit on my stomach while I am horizontal, it seems to throw my spinal alignment off.

I certainly don’t blame the sofa, I tested it thoroughly before buying it and it is quite comfortable, but when my back is aching, I end up on the floor, preferring the flat surface for prolonged periods of TV binge watching or movie watching. But on cold winters’ days, which seem to be 183 days of the year here, that floor can get chilly.

One day I was running errands when I saw a lady at a busy intersection waving a sign indicating that the nearest furniture store was having a moonlight madness sale. I thought to myself that it might not hurt to take a few minutes and see if there were any good deals.

I toured the store, checking out the seemingly endless selection of lounge chairs and it didn’t take long for me to narrow the search to a few favourite models of reasonably-priced recliners that felt like they supported me in all the right places.

One model in particular seemed to be stealing my heart. Not only was it supportive, but it also felt like I was lounging in a cloud. Five minutes later, after almost falling asleep, I knew that this was the one. If my back was not happy, it would have screamed at me by now.

I’d like to think that movie theatres have spoiled us. With those mechanized leather recliners finding their way into most theatres now, staying at home to watch a movie on the floor just doesn’t seem to hold the same appeal.

Along came a cheerful sales person named Michelle, with whom I navigated the dizzying array of features, options, fabrics, colours and patterns. It didn’t take long for us to have a deal. Delivery was to take 8 to 10 weeks.

From that day on, every time I found myself watching TV from the floor, all I could think was how sweet it will be to watch from the comfort of my very own recliner. My first recliner… at age 53! What the heck took me so long?

I also couldn’t wait to enjoy catching up on my reading from that same chair too, provided I don’t get so comfortably lulled into falling asleep that I may never finish a book again.

My thoughts then rolled ahead to a few years from now, in retirement. How wonderful it will be to have a really comfortable chair to relax and enjoy my new found free time.

About 4 weeks later, I got the call which sent my adrenaline surging. The chair was ready for delivery! We scheduled a date, and they would call me the night before to confirm a two-hour delivery window.

When the day arrived, I jumped out of bed with the same excitement as a kid on Christmas morning. I rearranged the living room to leave space where I thought the recliner would most logically fit, just to make it easier on the delivery guys. The anticipation was building already!

When my two-hour delivery window started, I was beyond excited. I’ve never been this thrilled over furniture. Whenever I heard the low frequency of a truck driving by, I kept thinking that maybe this was the truck with my new recliner.

The universe was, in fact, teasing me with a parade of courier delivery trucks as my neighbours’ online holiday shopping orders arrived, seemingly all within this two-hour block. I couldn’t sit still anymore. I could have sworn that the cat laughed at me as I was running to the window more times than she does.

As I prepared my lunch with my nose practically glued to the window overlooking the street, I realized that I was far more excited about the recliner than I was about the new car a few months ago.

When the recliner arrived and was set up in its new home, it didn’t take long for me to know that it was exactly what I needed. Cushy, comfy, and supports my back in all of the right places. Yes, I could see myself falling asleep in this thing… often!

The recliner has since become the icing on the cake for my perfect morning ritual of sipping my coffee and reading a good book. It also offers me a smooth transition into the day with time to jot down writing ideas, to reflect, and time to feel gratitude for the simple pleasures in life. It seems to set the right tone for the day.

And on those winter days when I would have been out shoveling heavy wet snow, it feels even sweeter to just relax in the comfort of the recliner, and to hear the snow plow that I hired take away the white stuff for me and to not risk damage to my back’s health.

It’s all coming together! Between good books, good movies, a gentle start to my mornings, doing everything I can to minimize back pain and a comfy recliner from which I can savour every moment, I wouldn’t say this new arrangement will make me love winter but it will certainly help me to hate winter less.

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Sincere thanks for reading!
Have a great day,
André