Every parent should have a rocking chair

My love for rocking chairs started at a very young age. I am the middle daughter of five girls, and dad's favorite past time was rocking us as babies, then rocking and telling stories as we grew older. My dad grew up in the black hills of Missouri, they were poor as church mice, so rocking was something to pass the time when you weren't working the farm. There was no money to spend frivolously on city activities, so men and women both would sit in rocking chairs on the front porch while they watched children play, knitted, peeled potatoes, or just sat back and smoked. It gave the legs some exercise for the older folks in the family, who were part of large multi-family homes. Sometimes there would be three or four generations living under one roof. All generations had a use for the rocking chair for different reasons. So of course, dad felt even though we lived in the suburbs, he still had to have a rocking chair. This wooden chair picture is exactly like the one my dad had in my younger years, and mom still has in storage in the attic of the house I grew up in. (Picture provided by wikimedia) As a small child I would stand next to his chair, sucking on my two middle fingers and listening intently, while he sang or told an interesting story. Me and my four sisters were close in age, so as we all got older dad thought it fun to tell scarey stories at night before we went to bed. We would all sit indian style on the floor with dad sitting in his rocking chair elaborating on some hill story handed down through the generations. A story that would scare the hide right off the family dog. Stories with titles like Peg Leg, The Ghost in the Attic, and The Angel of Death.

A family tradition handed down

So of course, as I grew into my teens, our family room had four to six rocking chairs. Each of us would rock and talk, or watch movies. Mom was the only one that didn't really enjoy rocking, so would sit in a chair from the kitchen table. She always used to say that when we were all rocking at the same time, it would almost make her sea sick from all the motion in the room. So when I left for our church boarding academy, my rocking chair went with me to put in my dorm room. I think my sisters and I were the only ones to have rocking chairs, and a few of the other girls would make comments about us being hillbillies, and having to bring rocking chairs to school. The first picture is of me and my sister packing my chair out the front door of our house to take to school. It was a comfy, green lazy boy rocker, bought used at a garage sale. I was just 15 in the picture.

When my daughter was born, she was my firstborn, my husband did not feel that same need to have a rocking chair for the children, so I did not get to rock my little girl as a newborn. But when my son came along, my dad insisted I needed a chair to raise his grandchildren right, and bought my first new rocking chair (a lazy boy also). It was a petite platform rocker with blue fabric. I have shared some pictures of this very chair at different times in my life, and have included a picture I took today to show you how much I love this chair. This chair has moved with me for the last 23 years, it has seen many things, and heard many stories. My daughter has given me four grandchildren, who now gives me pleasure to rock and sing to also.

All pictures shown are taken by me or my family.

These chairs are the most durable and comfortable chairs on the market. They are built with metal parts, not plastic, and come in either fabric or leather.

My son had found a pair of my shoes and was making them clomp around in my kitchen. But just wanted you to see how long I have had my chair. This picture was taken in 1991.

I have helped this chair last by putting a towel on the seat when my children/grandchildren sit in it, but other than that I only use my carpet machine to clean the fabric. This chair is wonderful.

They don't make rockers like the one my dad used anymore, unless you find one at a park-n-swap, but these are also very comfortable choices for wood rockers.