WDM, IA - Did He Really Say That?

I’ve told you several Jack stories in the past and have another for you. Again, sometimes he stumps me completely and I am so stunned that I don’t know what to say. Believe you me, Gary is with me on this - he’s as stumped as I am.

When we moved into this home, the previous owner had left some black leather furniture for us: 2 overstuffed chairs with hassocks, a lounge chair and a love seat. We’ve used these for the time we’ve been here but now would like to find a home for them. My brother has furniture that is as old as the hills and, when Gary and I sit on the love seat, we found our shoulders touching and our tushes brushing the floor. Really, old as the hills. We offered our black leather furniture to him. What a great deal, we thought. A softball question. An easy way to get the furniture out of our house.

What’s not to like about this furniture for a single guy?

But if you guessed that he clapped his hands together, beamed and said ‘Wow, what a neat gift, Nancy and Gary,’ au contraire, you’d be wrong. This is not a softball question for him since it involves CHANGE.

Here are his thoughts in order. Now. remember, he has a tendency to say ‘no’ to any suggestion we might make. We know that he will think on it and change his mind but ‘no’ is the first thought out of his mouth.

        But, my furniture is in good shape. I don’t need any new furniture.

                He obviously hasn’t sat in the love seat.

        Well, how would we get it in through the doorway?

                Why would any manufacturer make furniture too big for doorways?

        What would I do with my old stuff?

                Put it on the curb.

        Well, it doesn’t match my room

                says the guy with furniture from 3 different sets.

How many different ways can he say ‘no?’ But, Gary and I are wise: you can’t push a mule, he’ll change his mind. So we dropped the subject and headed on home.

1 hour into our drive back to Des Moines, Jack called to tell us he would take the lounge chair and the love seat. Ok, that’s a start.

At 10:00 the next day, Jack called saying he would take all of the pieces and now he wants to know how soon he can have them.

Only after we sell our house.

Change is difficult.