My daughter’s friend recently got married and she was excited to share that her and her husband just bought a couch: a brand, new WHITE couch. When my husband and I were first married we also decorated our first apartment with a sparkling white couch. We had no idea how impractical this purchase would become until we had kids, dogs, and life with chaos. In fact, that couch was the first in a series of couches that we have purchased over the years. It’s amazing how hard little kids and animals can be on furniture. The first leather sectional we owned was ruined artistically when my daughter, age three, took a ball-point pen to a cushion to draw her masterpiece that she was oh so proud of!

My boys were particularly hard on some of our couches as they loved to jump and test the limits daily. One day my middle son took an entire gallon of milk and poured it on to the couch. The middle cushion was soaking wet with milk! Another time he shook out tiny, red droplets from a Tabasco bottle covering one end of the house to the other making the couch look like a Jackson Pollock installation. My younger son’s friend “Jake” cut a hole in the upholstery of the couch one time during a sleepover, but I’m pretty sure it was him and not his friend. Now that they’re grown up and much more respectful of my furniture, I didn’t recreate my dream of a white couch because I’ve lost my naivety that I can keep it clean; we bought a tan colored one instead. It’s kind of white, right?

It’s a funny thing that happens as our children grow into adults; we tend to romanticize life with them when they were toddlers. I look back at some of these moments with rose-colored glasses forgetting how I really felt in the moment. Julie Willis writes about missing certain aspects of the toddler phase in her Humor at Home article, “Toddlers to Teenagers: Missing the Good Ole Days,” on page 39. She writes about how stressful having parented a toddler can be but she also remembers some of the benefits of having unruly toddlers. Her kids are now in the angsty teenage and pre-teen phase, and she’s learned to love that too.

Speaking of teens … Recently, KCFM Editor LJ Radon and I were guests at a special night honoring one local teen who stands out amongst his peers at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Kern County. Read all about his accomplishments and the spectacular night in the article, “Youth of the Year Gala” on page 16.

Special thanks to this month’s Happy Mama. In Callie Collins’ article, “Hello, Happy (Multifaceted) Mama: Kimberly Price,” on page 12, she writes about how this Mrs. Bakersfield 2018 gives back to a community that has her heart. Kimberly has been married to her husband for 30 years and they have two daughters. Over the years she has worn many hats and accomplished much. Most recently, she is the community events manager for the Greater Bakersfield Chamber of Commerce.

As the Earth renews its beauty this Spring, especially with the unique Bakersfield almond blossoms, you could even take your couch du jour and photograph your family sitting on it in an orchard with the white, popcorn-puffed flowers as a backdrop (make sure it’s not private property first). Couches come and go but the one thing that will remain is the memories that you create with your family.

Happy Spring!