Measuring Success by Recliner Lever

I watched Natalie Portman hear her name announced as Best Actress at the 2011 Academy Awards. She looked relieved. She looked elated. She looked thrilled. I wondered if I would ever feel that level of intense achievement.

That is, I wondered that until yesterday when I heard my sister-in-law, Stacy, announce that she found the lever for the recliner. I wonder no more.

Until you have resorted to using a plumbing wrench to kick back the footrest on a La-Z-Boy® recliner because your bed is in pieces in the library as

await the dry-wallers to finish taping and sanding your bedroom because two weeks ago you found mold under the floorboards and had to tear out all the walls and need a place to sleep, don’t judge my reaction.

Until your La-Z-Boy lever beats Bilbo to the punch, popping in and out of existence in various geographic locations, don’t judge my level of frustration.

Or do. Judge away. I am way too exhausted to care - just know that there's a queue.

Regardless, just know that I did it … or, rather, Stacy did. But I am reaping the rewards of her discovery as I write this, which I guess makes me more of a politician than actor, but, either way, I WIN!

I kicked back in my recliner, a feat which did not require the use of any plumbing tools, and I have a hot cup of coffee. I don’t know if life gets any better than this!

© 2025 Maria L. P. Boynton, All Rights Reserved.