the sofa in our kitchen

I’m sitting here on our sofa in our kitchen. Yes, we have a couch in our kitchen. When we first saw this house and knew it was “the one,” Brian and I both looked at each other and said, “Our couch is going right here.” We both pointed to the spot in the kitchen where the previous owners had their kitchen table. When we moved in, that’s where our sofa went – with a view of the whole kitchen right in the center of our house (yes, we do have a kitchen table – it’s next to the windows looking off our deck onto the common play area of the neighborhood).

And so it was…and is. A sofa in our kitchen.

The kitchen is where everyone ends up. In any home. No matter the size of the other rooms. It’s here where we tend to gather. By the end of a party, folks almost always have migrated back to the kitchen – for another cup of tea, a nibble of dessert…and to be a part of the circle of friends leisurely lounging and sharing stories. And so Brian and I thought, “Why not have some comfy seating for such lounging?!”

Over the last six years we have been in our little home, the kitchen remains the place where everyone gathers. It’s where life happens – where meals are made and eaten, playdates get crazy, email is checked, friends share their woes and joys while kids run around and soup simmers, snowboots are put over the heating vents, Easter Eggs are dyed, Brian’s bread is baked and shared, diapers are changed, books are read, birthday presents are torn open, overnight guests gather in the morning for (strong!) coffee, and even dancing happens.

It’s from this couch where you can see dawn emerging over the rooftops, experience the ups and downs of the day with kiddos, and late at night, sit and enjoy warm tea…and silence.

The sofa isn’t in a separate “sitting area” but rather in the hub of it all. Sitting on the sofa, you are in the center of our home…and our life. It’s here where guests feel the pulse of our daily life…and what matters to us – nourishing meals, comforting conversations, and warm hugs.

Originally I intended to write a post about the 525,600 minutes we have in a year (thanks Rent!). September is like the start of a new year for many of us as kiddos go back to school. I have been reflecting on the “start” of this “new year” – thinking about the new possibilities in our life, thinking about the dreams we have, and I have felt the strong desire to feel “settled” creep into my mind and grip my heart.

And then sitting on this sofa this morning, the feeling came over me: wow, I am at home here. In this house, in the hub of our house in the kitchen, on our sofa. The richness of the life we’ve created here – how this house has truly become a home – swept over me. And I felt settled. This is what I’ve wanted, longed for. And yet here it is – right here on the sofa we sit on every single day.