Snow days and sweet memories

Today was a rare snow day in March. Mother Nature decided to dump 6 inches of the fluffy stuff and my kids had the best time running around, making snow angels, and snow painting with bottles of water and food coloring.

This rare day gave me some rare white space (literally and figuratively!) to write and think. Watching my kids sit in the tall back kitchen chairs at breakfast and lunch today gave me the inspiration to share one of my first DIY furniture projects.

These tall back chairs had been one of the first pieces of furniture in our first home and I can remember rolling out of Ashley Furniture-or maybe it was Value City Furniture since we had just got married and were poor newlyweds living solely on love and credit cards-feeling like we had just done one thing pretty epic. First we buy a house and then we get to fill it with furniture…what the what?! We were doing “big people” stuff like our parents…

So we bought a fantastic breakfast nook table and four chairs in the deepest shade of dark brown with dark suede seat covers….ooh, la, la. We were awesome.

Then life happened. That table and those seats saw lots of life. From the forest view in the breakfast nook of our first house that saw the change of each new season, to the spot where family and friends would gather for breakfast, dinner, games and cards. (Because who needs a dining room table when you have this awesome nook table that everyone can cram themselves around?!) That table was the sight of our first fights as a married couple, conversations and prayers after the loss of our first child, and the spot where our first fur baby, Scooter, tried to hike his leg before understanding going outside was a better option. That table and those chairs were where we sat as I fed my sweet baby girl and boy their first bites of food and made messes that I cringed as I cleaned up. The stories that table and chairs could tell, right?

So that table made it all the way through the first house and a move to a new home. It was in need of some major TLC (or the garbage) so here comes my big idea to save it. Chalk paint bought, brushes ready, and here I go to save our table which we shall never part with…..and three days later I realized I should have watched more you tube tutorials on chalk painting tables.

So the table was a goner (even with a table cloth it was ugly) but the chairs….oh my precious chairs, let me save you! And that I did….or we did.

My kids and I took the rest of that chalk paint outside, sanded those tall back chairs and got to it. I have to say, after the painting, sanding and then the waxing process, they looked pretty awesome or maybe it was just that there was a lot less area to mess up.

After a trip to Mecca (aka Hobby Lobby) we picked a fabric and I recovered those seats without even taking the old fabric off (hey, it works people!) and felt pretty powerful wielding a staple gun.

So, does furniture have a story? Yes, I think so. These chairs have a past and will continue to be the places my children sit and tell me about their school days, cry over bad test grades, and laugh (and make gagging noises) as they watch their dad and mom stop to dance and get in a quick smootch before the last flip of the pancakes. These chairs have recently held my 90 year old granny as she told my children stories only the way she can. They have held my dad and mom as they shared a cup of cocoa with my kids. They have held my teenage nephews as they chow down on the last of the biscuit for breakfast.

So I will leave you with a picture of one of the “Old Betsy’s”. I would like to think these old girls will be packed up in a U-Haul one day to be a part of one of my kids apartments. Until then, we will keep sitting and making memories.

A picture of my two babies being “helpers”. Apparently one of them was angry….

Below are a couple links to help you and maybe you won’t ruin your table! If you can’t click on them, just copy and paste in your browser. Have fun!

hobbylobby.com