There’s a very special part of my house, one you probably don’t know about even if you’ve been to my home. It’s in our living room, on our couch, in my seat.
Everyone has “their spot” on the couch, right? Well, mine is right in the corner. It always has tons of pillows and a blanket because I’m always cold, and it’s been used so much over the last 6 1/2 years that the back cushion is all worn down. Whenever I’m not looking, my kids try to steal my spot. And every time, I swat them out of my way! Most of the time, I call them back once I’m settled, and they snuggle in under the blanket with me.
It’s there, in that little corner of our couch, that brings us back to when they were tiny babies in my lap.
It’s known as the cuddle corner. Most of the time, the cuddle corner is just for watching TV, relaxing, and reading.
But lately, as small girls become tweens and life becomes challenging, it’s become a source of comfort and a place where big conversations are starting to happen.
When someone’s having a tough day, crying (which happens a lot in my house!), or needs to talk about something but doesn’t want to, I drag us over to the cuddle corner. We sit, snuggle, and sometimes, just sometimes, the safety of that warm, soft part of the couch, deep in the corner of the living room, gives us enough of a quiet moment to talk about whatever’s going on.
I realize as the years go on, this couch will need to be replaced. There are only so many pillows I can stack behind me before my back is going to eventually rebel. But I hope the magic of the cuddle corner doesn’t disappear when the couch does. I hope the comfort of a safe space to talk about what’s hurting my daughters doesn’t end when our special spot goes away.
I hope they understand that the safe space is me and us, and not in an old lumpy couch and a soft blanket.
And I hope for many years to come, they’ll put their trust in me, wherever we may be cuddled up, and know I’ll always be there to listen, help, and support. These “big kid” years are coming at us fast, and I’ll take all the help I can get to keep the lines of communication open between me and my beautiful girls, even if it’s an old lumpy couch in the corner of our living room.
