Our family room couch had seen better days. At 16 years old, considerably after our three children and a myriad of their friends had watched movies, played video games and even slept on it, our brown leather beast was done. It was faded from the glorious sun that comes in that room. The cushions had lost their oomph years ago. Our children, now all adults, pleaded while visiting, “We can’t even sit on it without hurting our backs!” The last straw was a hole on the end of the couch that just got wider each day. Where do I sit?
We went to a local furniture store and started shopping. As we looked and sat on yet another brown leather sofa and then looked and sat on a grey one, I quickly came to a standstill. Amidst loveseats, lamps, tables and tchotchkes, I stopped. My feet froze. I could sit no longer. Two overwhelming thoughts persisted:
How do people cope when they cannot buy any of this?
How do people feel about an inability to replace lost or broken furniture for their families?
The answers started to appear in client correspondence and feedback. I felt desperately low, one client told us. Another reported, I felt hopeless and lonely because my bed was ruined from rodent and overhead water damage. Where will guardians snuggle and read books to their children? Where will an elderly couple sit at the end of a long day to recharge with hot coffee or tea? Where will they sit?
Mission of Deeds and our local trusted agencies hear those intense and troubled but often quiet pleas.
My brother had nothing. He was sick for so long and just received help from [an agency] in finding a clean, safe, affordable small apartment. [Mission of Deeds] provided him a new mattress, a couch, two chairs and a new, wooden table.
Kindly ask yourself, “Where do I sit?” As you relax after a busy day, please think, “Where will I sleep tonight and eat breakfast in the morning?” If we have the security to readily know our answers then shouldn’t we think about donating to the best of our abilities to provide the same answers for our clients. Picture each person on clean, safe, new or gently used furniture. We can see parents reading books to young children on a sofa in their living room. We can look over and see a table set for dinner. Later, at bedtime, we can see everyone contentedly crawl into beds with new mattresses and pillows, clean sheets and blankets, finally feeling secure and safe.
We will know where they sit – and where they will eat and sleep. We will know.
By Volunteer Joanne Fitzpatrick
