My Mother's House
Since my mother purchased this house, which was three homes ago for me, she has spent the majority of her time in her "tv room", which is a sun room in the back of the house. It is a sort of cape style home, with a large living room containing a fireplace on a marble wall, with a large opening to the kitchen. The garage is part of the house, and the stairs to the basement go down from the garage, and the stairs to the sun room go up from the garage.
For some reason I can't understand, my parents decided that they were going to put the tv into the sun room, and used that room exclusively to watch tv, almost never using the living room for anything. (They did not do a lot of entertaining).
Since originally it was just my parents living here, they set up 2 chairs facing the television, and a sofa against the wall so close to the back door that the door would scrape it when it was opened. Anyone sitting on the sofa had a lousy view of the television unless they put their feet up. There were also end tables between the chairs and to either side, as well as an end table next to the entertainment center, which was barely large enough to hold the television. In front of my mother's end table was a sewing cabinet and a video tape cabinet.
In front of the end table between the two chairs was a child's folding table, which had two footstools, two bags for recycling, and a box full of puzzle books. There were tiny trash collectors which would be emptied into medium size trash collectors, which would then be emptied into 13 gal. bags to be taken out for collection each week.
The room was uncomfortable for me, but my mother has spent most of her time in it for the last 15 years, only a couple of them with my father, most of them alone.
Her cramped little room is all but gone now. I have removed a few pieces of furniture, moved the sofa to the back wall facing the television and the two chairs to the sides. There are now 5 comfortable viewing positions, should there be 5 people in the house watching television. No longer is each inch of the wall packed so tight that you cannot get to the strings that operate the curtains, and I have vaccumed the rug and the curtains.
I have also set up a television in the living room, which really is a great room, and rearranged the furniture so that it works a bit better in here. I had my brother, who has spent a great deal of time with my mother over the last few years, over to see it, and we sat in the living room rather than the tv room and he seemed to like it.
I hope that my mother does, should she be allowed to come home.
For some reason I can't understand, my parents decided that they were going to put the tv into the sun room, and used that room exclusively to watch tv, almost never using the living room for anything. (They did not do a lot of entertaining).
Since originally it was just my parents living here, they set up 2 chairs facing the television, and a sofa against the wall so close to the back door that the door would scrape it when it was opened. Anyone sitting on the sofa had a lousy view of the television unless they put their feet up. There were also end tables between the chairs and to either side, as well as an end table next to the entertainment center, which was barely large enough to hold the television. In front of my mother's end table was a sewing cabinet and a video tape cabinet.
In front of the end table between the two chairs was a child's folding table, which had two footstools, two bags for recycling, and a box full of puzzle books. There were tiny trash collectors which would be emptied into medium size trash collectors, which would then be emptied into 13 gal. bags to be taken out for collection each week.
The room was uncomfortable for me, but my mother has spent most of her time in it for the last 15 years, only a couple of them with my father, most of them alone.
Her cramped little room is all but gone now. I have removed a few pieces of furniture, moved the sofa to the back wall facing the television and the two chairs to the sides. There are now 5 comfortable viewing positions, should there be 5 people in the house watching television. No longer is each inch of the wall packed so tight that you cannot get to the strings that operate the curtains, and I have vaccumed the rug and the curtains.
I have also set up a television in the living room, which really is a great room, and rearranged the furniture so that it works a bit better in here. I had my brother, who has spent a great deal of time with my mother over the last few years, over to see it, and we sat in the living room rather than the tv room and he seemed to like it.
I hope that my mother does, should she be allowed to come home.
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