'Couch Surfing'

Couchsurfing was not a term I was familiar with until we moved to the States. I was introduced to it by a friend of mine. Her daughter was sharing a rented apartment in Atlanta and from time-to-time they had couchsurfers stop over for a night or two as they were passing through the city.

Couchsurfing is defined by Wikipedia as ...

 'a neologism referring to the practice of moving from one friend's house to another, sleeping in whatever spare space is available, floor or couch, generally staying a few days before moving on to the next house'

It seems that couchsurfing is an up and coming practice ... a way of staying somewhere without having to pay for expensive hotels, a way of experiencing the local culture firsthand, a new more adventurous way of travelling round the world. There is even a dedicated website for couchsurfing to enable all those involved to keep in touch etc.

While I am torn between thinking it would be both an exciting but also slightly dangerous way of travelling ... as you never quite know who you might end up with ... I am grateful that I have lots of friends strategically placed around the world who I could stay with instead!

The last few weeks my husband and I have been doing our own variation of couchsurfing which I am sure most parents have experienced more than once. As one or other of our girls have been sick continuously recently, we've been taking it in turns to sleep on the couch with whoever needs us while the other parent gets a good night sleep! In a two bedroomed house, the sofa is the next best thing to a bed!

This little bout of sickness started while we were in the UK ... so we've been busy comparing the comfort levels of different peoples sofas! We've had everything from an old saggy 2-seater, to a comfy reclining one. Ours rates somewhere in the middle as it was a second-hand one we bought from a previous family who were training with MMS Aviation ... not our first choice, but it does the job!

Yesterday I was chatting to Mark and we were commenting that neither of us can actually remember the last time we spent the whole night in bed together!! Sad but true! And it's not even because one of us is away, we've had an argument or something else like that! At the moment we're not sure when it will change either ... hopefully only a few more nights as everyone seems to be slowly getting better! If we're not quick enough in the morning to clear the sofa ... someone else decides to get cosy in our 'bed'!!

To all you 'real' couchsurfers out there ... enjoy the adventure. To all you parents who also have your own variation ... be encouraged, you're not alone and it won't last forever ... until the next time that is!!