Couches and Stuff

Last night Paul and I loaded up the three youngest children and hooked the trailer to the van and drove to Portland to look at some furniture we had found on Craigslist.

The first set we looked at was a dreamy Ethan Allan set that (they claimed) had cost $5000 new. You could tell it was really excellent stuff--the fabric, the weight, etc. Unfortunately it was over 8 years old and a bit pilly on the seats and faded by the sun.

So we went off to see set #2. I was a bit dubious because on the photo it looked checkered rather than plaid, but when I saw it up close it was beautiful and I fell in love with it. It was in wonderful condition.

So we bought the set. And in the process I learned the story behind it. "Jim," the owner, said that he and his ex-wife had bought it for $2500 which included a $200 stain guard. They always took really good care of it--they didn't let the kids eat on it, and he and his wife always put a blanket on the couch and sat on it if they wanted to eat in the living room.

But then they divorced and the new wife didn't want to have furniture that the first wife had chosen. "Just a girl thing, I guess," said Jim, sadly. "We tried a different color scheme, with new lampshades and stuff. Didn't work. I hate to see it go, but . . ." he shrugged.

I am happy with the furniture but the story behind it makes me so sad. Sometimes I feel like I'm the last person in America who thinks divorce is any worse than, say, having your car stolen and who bursts into tears at airports when little children get handed off to the flight attendants to (hopefully)be delivered to Mom or Dad at the other end.

Jim said his son attends a Christian school, which indicated to me that they have some sort of church affiliation. And I wonder, where was the church when this man was divorced from one woman and married to another before his child was in first grade?

The liberal writers in our newspaper often make me angry, but I have to admit that a few of them were right on when they said that it doesn't make much sense for Christians to make lots of noise about legalized gay marriage destroying the institution of marriage because Christians have almost destroyed it themselves without any help from anyone.

Meanwhile, we have "Jim" who is obviously trying to keep his new wife happy, and who never realized that one of the many costs of divorce would be selling a beautiful $2500 set of furniture for $600.

Disclaimer: I am well aware that I have never been married to a man who drank, beat me up and slept around. If you have, you have my sympathy and I am sure you responded the best you knew how. I am speaking in generalities here, that the church has somehow lost its way in this area.

Quote of the Day:
"I'm just glad it's going to a good home."
--Jim, about the furniture set