The Poofy Recliner

We have two Lazy Boy recliners down in our family room. We bought them, along with the couch, when we moved in and finished the downstairs. One is closer to the door, so that's the one I automatically took as my chair. Tom, of course, takes the couch. This is not even up for discussion. Sometimes, when he is working at the computer, I will lie on the couch to watch tv and it's comfortable...but not quite right. I need my chair.

The chairs are those big man Lazy Boys and when we first got them, I thought we had made a mistake and they were too big. But if I put a big pillow on one side, I fit perfectly. I can pull up my feet, tuck them under me, lean on the pillow and be cozy and comfy. And we can reach each other. Tom always reaches back to my chair from the couch and we have this sliding hand movement thing we do when something is particularly moving or funny or an inside joke on tv. This has been the status quo for us for several years now. Tom lies on the couch, I sit in my chair and we watch tv.

But, the other night he was working at his computer and I sat down in the other chair to talk to him for a minute and...oh, my God!...that chair is so much softer and poofier!! I have totally smooshed mine down! Well, this wouldn't do. I decided to switch chairs. I began my chair-switching campaign the next night. I could actually see the big screen tv better, but the lamp was reflected in the screen. Patiently, Tom turned it off so I could see. He did ask why I was sitting over there and, when I told him, he didn't say anything. But he sighed when he turned the light off.

The next night, when I headed for the poofy chair, he just sat on the couch and looked at me. "What?" I said. "Well..." he said. "When you sit over there...I can't reach back and touch you." I looked at him. My unromantic husband of almost 30 years who always buys me everything on my Christmas list. Never anything else. Never anything spontaneous or surprising. And I moved back to the other chair. So he can reach back and touch me.

Tonight, I think I'll just switch the chairs. Duh.