An Old Rocking Chair

I had my ipod on shuffle the other day and Kenny Chesneys song Blue Rocking Chair came on. It made me think of a rocking chair that I own. It's an old chair. 35 years old to be exact. It's a kind of golden yellowy brown. I am sure most of you have seen it. It used to be my Dad's chair. He would sit in it for hours. Reading (when he could still see well enough), praying, watching the news with Mom, and I am sure he had more then a few naps in that old chair as well. He used to have a sheep skin on it. It must have helped raise the comfort level. He bought the chair for my Mom before I was born so that she would have somewhere to rock me to sleep. I am not sure when it became "his" chair but that is how I remember it.

When we moved back here from Sask a couple years ago (after coming to our senses and realizing where we belonged :) ), Mom told me that she was planning on taking it to good will. I of course said that there was no way that was gonna happen and that I would find room in the trailer to bring it with. We had to leave some stuff behind that wouldn't fit but I managed. I think there still might be a box or two in Moms garage. Gotta get those some day. The chair now sits in Cadences room and I rock my little girl to sleep in the same chair that I was rocked in. I love that old chair. It has wooden ends on the armrests and if you look you can see where the finish has been rubbed off the wood from Dads hands on them. Probably because they were always shaking when he sat there. Incidentally that chair is where Connor split his lip wide open and had to get 4 stitches to sew it up. Now that was a fun day. Kinda like trying to stitch up the lip of rabid dog. The springs are kinda worn out and it's not the most comfortable chair anymore. The yellowy brown color doesn't really look that good in a pink bedroom but I think its perfect. When I sit in that chair and rock my little girl to sleep it feels like all the stress and worry that builds up just washes away. Sometimes its hard to lay her in her crib and come back downstairs. Its easy to just sit there and rock her for a while while she sleeps.
Maybe she will rock her kids in her Grandpas chair one day. I wish he could have met her.

10 comments:

Sue December 8, 2009 at 5:17 PM  

What a great chair! I wonder how many pictures there are out the of that old chair. That is also the chair that John fell asleep on at one time. I say on because he was laying straight across the arms and not touching any other part of it. I am not sure how long he slept like that. Nor do I know if there is a picture of that. I thought there was but it could just be my memory and not an actual photo. There have been many good naps in that chair and many many prayers prayed. If you hadn't wanted it I was going to put it in my basement. I am happy for you that you have it and can rock your babies in it.

Jonathan December 8, 2009 at 5:48 PM  

David...awesome and thank you.

Unknown December 8, 2009 at 7:24 PM  

Ohhhh! So nice.

Claudia December 8, 2009 at 8:39 PM  

This made me teary. :)

Trav December 8, 2009 at 9:03 PM  

i agree with johnny. i like this post. thanks

footsack December 10, 2009 at 4:24 PM  

I'm glad you have Dad's chair. I'm sure the memories must just flow when you sit in it. I wish I had something of dad's but I have lots of pictures and memories and that is also wonderful.

Melanie December 12, 2009 at 8:39 AM  

I wish he could have met Bella too. It's weird to think that he didn't, that he didn't see me with her. It breaks my heart.
Except that I kind of believe that babies live in heaven before they come here. So maybe he rocked Cadence, Bella, Hannah, and all the other babies before they got here. Maybe they met him before they met us. Maybe when we all are back in Heaven they'll rush up to him and say they missed him, instead of meeting him for the first time there.
Yep, that's what I think.
I'm glad you have something of his like that.

Jonathan December 14, 2009 at 4:15 PM  

Melanie. That is excellent. I never thought of it like that before. I like it a lot.

Melanie December 18, 2009 at 3:00 PM  

There's a verse in Jeremiah that says "before you were formed in the womb, I knew you." So that's where I get my ever so slightly shaky but immensely comforting "theology" on that one :P

footsack January 13, 2010 at 11:44 AM  

Dave you haven't posted since last year! Come on already!!

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