Couch Life: A love story

“Mom, it’s really hard to pay attention to you with pizza and crumbs on your shirt.”

Zach was laughing as he said it, phone already out to capture photographic evidence of my Sunday morning fashion statement. The text to his sister Lexi read: “Mom is livin the couch life.”

I have not stopped smiling since.

Here’s what happened: Saturday arrived in Florida with one of those gray, cold, rainy moods that makes the whole state feel like it’s borrowed someone else’s winter. We’re going through a historical cold snap—actual freezing temperatures, which for Florida is basically the apocalypse. I had the best of intentions. House projects were calling. Things needed doing. I was going to be productive and responsible and all those other words that sound good when you’re making mental lists over your morning coffee.

Instead, I pulled a blanket over myself, turned on old sitcom reruns (I’m watching “Cheers” and “Glee” simultaneously), and started designing products for Coffee & Words.

The couch became my command center. The day slipped past in that beautiful, fluid way where hours don’t announce themselves—they just drift by while you’re creating something, resting something, healing something you didn’t even know needed attention. At some point, I realized Zach hadn’t emerged for our usual Saturday pizza night. He’d been fighting a bad cold and clearly needed the sleep more than pepperoni. So I did what any self-respecting couch dweller would do: I found pizza rolls in the freezer and called it “girl dinner.”

Somewhere between the sitcom marathon and my eyelids getting heavy, I migrated from couch to my amazing bed (all to myself, by the way, which remains one of my favorite plot twists in this Florida chapter). Eight hours of pure, blissful sleep followed.

Sunday arrived with sunshine, and suddenly the same temperature felt twenty degrees warmer. That’s what the Florida sun does — it changes everything, inside and out. Zach was finally up and moving, his energy returning. I walked into his room to go over a grocery list, still riding that sun-induced mood boost.

That’s when he noticed the evidence.

Pizza sauce. On my shirt. From last night’s freezer dinner. Still there. Still visible. Completely unnoticed by me until my son documented it for posterity.

“Mom is livin the couch life.”

Yes. Yes, I am.

Here’s the thing I keep learning and relearning in this life I’m building: there will always be projects waiting. There will always be things I could do, should do, might do if I were the kind of person who fights against what my body and soul are asking for. But I’m not that person anymore. I didn’t move to Florida to become a more productive version of my Indiana self. I moved here to finally have the freedom to choose couch life when that’s what I need.

Saturday wasn’t wasted. I was still creating — designing products that matter to me, letting ideas take flight while my body rested. I was letting the gray, cold day be exactly what it wanted to be instead of forcing myself into some predetermined schedule of productivity. I was honoring the rhythm of a cloudy winter afternoon that invited hibernation.

And honestly? Waking up after eight hours of solid sleep, in a bed I love, in a home that’s completely mine, wearing yesterday’s pizza sauce like a badge of honor — that’s not failure. That’s freedom.

One of my favorite parts of the life I’m building is this: I get to decide. House projects can wait for sunshine. Pizza rolls count as dinner. Couch life isn’t lazy — it’s listening. It’s trusting that rest is productive in ways that don’t show up on to-do lists but show up in how you feel when you wake up the next morning.

Zach’s text made me laugh out loud, but it also made me smile from somewhere deeper. Because he’s right. I am enjoying the couch life. I’m enjoying the freedom to choose it. I’m enjoying a life where my son can gently roast me for having pizza on my shirt and the whole moment is just… easy. Warm. Real.

This is what sanctuary looks like sometimes. Not always picture-perfect or Instagram-ready. Sometimes it’s sitcom reruns and freezer pizza and falling asleep before you change your shirt.

And you know what? I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

Couch life: I love it.

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My word stack for today:

Couch + Life

couch, [kouch] noun, Origin: Old French couche, “a place to lie down”
Not just furniture, but a command center for rest, creativity and the radical act of choosing what your body needs over what your to-do list demands.

life, [lahyf] noun, Origin: Old English līf, “life, existence”
What happens when you show up fully, love what matters and remember that simple moments are everything.

These mugs are part of our Coffee Stories collection – word stacks inspired by my personal journey shared in these posts. Each memoir piece becomes a stackable memory you can hold in your hands. Start your own collection and create combinations that speak to your journey.

Shop My Couch Life:

A few things that make couch life possible:

Heated Throw Blanket – [Amazon Link] – The MVP of Florida’s “freezing” winter. Lightweight, cozy, and makes any couch instantly sanctuary-worthy.

Coffee Warmer – [Amazon Link] – Never let your coffee go cold again

Freezer Pizza Rolls – Because sometimes dinner doesn’t need to be complicated. (Evidence may appear on clothing the next day.)

The Bed You Love – I can’t link mine, but investing in a mattress and bedding that feels like pure bliss? Worth every penny for those 8-hour sleeps.

Some links are Amazon affiliate links, which means I earn a small commission if you purchase through them at no extra cost to you. I only share products I actually use and love!