After 20 years, I actually used our living room!
Jerry Epperson -- Furniture Today, January 1, 2006
If you think the collapse of the Berlin Wall was momentous, it was only a blip compared to the changes that have occurred recently in the Epperson household.
For 20 years, I've kidded about the formal living room in my home. I haven't been allowed in there, but standing in the foyer I can see the marble fireplace, the grand piano, the high-end fabric sofa and matching leather wing chairs that coordinate with the obscenely expensive drapes. There's a gorgeous Oriental rug, a mahogany wall system filled with souvenirs of our travels and family mementos, all sitting on a plush, white, wall-to-wall carpet that's very vulnerable to dirt, staining, animal hair and all types of other horrors.
I've always loved the room, but my lovely wife of 35 years won't let the family, especially me, use it. It's for "company."
Until now!
My 2-year-old grand-daughter has taken over the room. She "plays" the piano, keeps her dolls on the sofa and plays with my collection of miniature furniture. She even eats snacks in there! Our children would have been grounded for life and worse, but for a grandchild the rules no longer apply. Or so I'm learning.
I played with her in there the other night but was uncomfortable the entire time, anticipating the wrath of Kathy at any moment. It never happened.
And there are other changes. Thanks to marriages and the first grandchild, the family no longer can dine together at the kitchen table. We now are using the formal dining room regularly for something other than a place to store presents before the next family birthday or holiday.
For at least 20 years, the dining room was used only on Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve. We dine there at least once a week now and, much to my surprise, you can eat regular food at that table.
Eating pizza or leftovers there still feels a bit strange, but it gets easier every time.
Granted, I am one of the oldest baby boomers at 57, but I'll bet these things are happening everywhere as homes are re-invented and retrofitted as households evolve. Married children, coming back home to visit, probably do not want to sleep in the bunk beds anymore, and grandparents need to find a new place to put the crib.
It's our job (and opportunity) to help America make these changes.
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After 20 years, I actually used our living room!
Jan 6, 2006
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