Mom’s Chair

 

After clearing the table and kitchen, Elizabeth sat in her chair by the fireplace. This was her go-to place to unwind at the end of the day. Nancy noticed her mom and came to her.

“Can I sit with you, mom?” she asked.

“Come, darling,” said Elizabeth and adjusted little Nancy with her. Elizabeth held her in a warm embrace by the crackling fire.

“You love this chair, don’t you?” asked Nancy.

Elizabeth smiled. “Yes. This chair belonged to my mom.”

“Wow! It’s that old!” exclaimed Nancy. 

“I think I have seen this at aunt Susan’s place,” said Nancy.

“That is correct,” replied Elizabeth. “Mom had given this chair to her.”

“How did it land up here?” asked Nancy.

Elizabeth’s eyes welled up with tears as she patted the chair. “This is my favourite chair for the memories associated with it.”

“Memories?” asked Nancy.

“I used to sit in this chair with my mom, like you are sitting with me today. My mom used to hold me close and tell me stories. Ah! That was blissful, the safest place on earth!”

“I know how that feels,” said Nancy and hugged her mom.

“So, how did the chair come to you?” asked Nancy.

“Mom gave this chair to Susan who also liked it. Susan also knew how much I loved it. She took it from mom, not wanting to offend her, but later gave it to me.”

“How sweet of aunt to do that!”

“Yes,” said Elizabeth. “I learned something important from Susan that day; to always choose people and relationships over things. Remember, Nancy, love people and use things, not the other way round. Things can be replaced but special people cannot.”

“I will remember that,” said Nancy.

“The golden metal strips on the chair’s legs look so aesthetically appealing,” said Nancy.

“There’s a story to that too,” said Elizabeth. “Once, a long time ago, one leg of this chair had broken. We got it fixed but the crack line was visible. To cover it, we put a golden metal strip. It looked imbalanced, so we put one on each of the legs.”

“And now it looks so pretty, as if it were a designer chair!” exclaimed Nancy.

“All that is broken can be fixed, Nancy,” said Elizabeth. “You just need the right tools and the right intention.”

Nancy nodded in agreement.

“Let’s sleep now,” said Elizabeth. “We have to wake up early tomorrow morning.”