A young couple moved to my town. They have been living overseas for five years gaining knowledge and experience in the form of Phd's in music and came back to the states with a bare minimum of possessions. I was curious how that was working out and asked what they might need as they were settling in.
"Well, a bookshelf would be nice, and a lamp. We only have one chair but we make due. We are hoping to acquire a bed."
As providence would have it my neighbor offered a nice queen sized bed that very day on Facebook and I linked them up. John and I trotted over with the shelf and threw in a dresser which was underutilized. As we climbed the third set of stairs we crossed the threshold as some of their first visitors. The sparseness of their apartment hit me like a conviction. I have mentioned that I am thinning out the inhabitants of Odhner Manor, and the contrast with four rooms whose contents numbered in the single digits made me cringe with the inequity.
I came back the next day with lamps and quilts, as the nights are getting brisk. In a conversation with a friend whose domestic overhaul is epic, I mentioned the solitary chair. That night she arrived at their door step with a pair of cozy ones.
It has taken a tad of coaxing to find out what they need. Greediness is nowhere in their make up, and they do not see this as a chance to capitalize on the generosity of strangers. Au contraire, they do not want to be a bother.
What is enchanting to witness as the matchmaker between people with spare furniture to give and a couple who can use it, somehow the math does not make sense. Everybody wins, and nobody loses. People with surplus are grateful to help, and the young couple can sit down simultaneously with lights on.
It is similar to the inexplicable feeling I have when young couples and more weathered ones spend time together. Although the exchange of conversation will not furnish an apartment, the stories bring both warmth and light.
