The Journey of Hazel’s Chair

In my continuing series of “Inherited Treasures” blogs, I’m especially pleased to share a photograph of Hazel’s beloved rocking chair.

It is in my living room by the fireplace, and it’s not uncommon for someone to choose to sit in it when all of us are gathered together in conversation because it’s quite comfortable despite being small. I took a picture of our rescue puppy, Treble, sitting next to it, so you’d have a bit of perspective about size. Treble weighs sixty pounds, so you can get some idea how close to the ground the seat is placed.

But the seat is also wide enough for an adult (or Hazel’s turn-of-the-century skirts), so if you don’t mind your knees being bent up to your chin or having your legs straight out in front of you, it works. 

This rocker was custom-made for Hazel, as those of you who have read Becoming Hazel will remember, to accommodate her degenerative spinal issues and her shortened left leg. It has traveled from Kalamazoo to Oklahoma City to Austin and to Los Angeles with Hazel. It stayed there for many years before it traveled to Seattle with my mother. I asked for it when she no longer had room, and it traveled to Boston, New York, San Francisco, and finally back to Boston.

 I suppose someday the chair will live in another city with another family member. But for now, it has inspired part of Hazel’s story, and I feel closer to her when I take a few moments to rock where she took solace.