Since my bed broke down last month, people have been asking me when I'm going to get a new bed. Mostly they're concerned. I think people think I'm sleeping on the floor with rags as blankets, shivering, my hair in Mary Pickford braids while "The Swan" is playing in the background.
I don't want to sound like I'm making fun of my friends/family, I'm not. I'm incredibly touched by the fact that they care about me and want me to have a bed as soon as possible. However I am learning something that writer Veronica Chambers wrote about years ago is true: A delay is not a denial. And sometimes you have to do the best you can with what you have.
When the bed broke down, I slept on the couch. It wasn't confortable, and I knew it had to change. I found my old sleeping bag from slumber parties/camping trips which helped a little. Plus I didn't have to make my bed, which is always a chore. But I knew that it might be a while before I got a new bed. Plus before I got a new bed I wanted to clean out my room. I have clothes I wore in high year. Yep, high school. And I hate to admit it, but culottes are not coming back. And not having a bed was clearing up a lot of room to redo everything. But I needed to sleep, plus sleeping in the living room wasn't ideal. I decided to go get an air mattress.
I looked at several mattresses with women lounging in their nightgowns laughing. Who knew air mattresses could be so funny? I picked out a queen mattress. It came with an air deal where you hook it up and in minutes you had a matteress! I placed it in my room, along with quilts and made it look homey. I suddenly realized how much I loved the look it gave. My old bed was great, but it was a four poster bed. It was something a teenager would sleep in. This mattress wasn't perfect but I noticed it was bohemian, fun. Sometimes it's like sleeping on a waterbed.
The first night I snuggled down, read for a hour, and then I went to sleep. I hadn't slept that well in months. I wasn't sure what it was. Was it I had an ingrained fear that my bed was going to fall apart any minute? Or that because the mattress was so low, I didn't have the streetlight blaring in my eyes? Not sure. All I knew was I slept better. I woke up in the mornings not groggy, but feeling like I could go on with my day.
Another great thing about the mattress: I could move it easily so when I was stacking up books or clothes to donate to Goodwill, I could put it on the floor and figure out what could go, what could stay. I wasn't losing bookmarks anymore under my bed; I found spiders easier and they met their maker.
Still people have offered their advice for beds. Ikea. Craigslist. And trust me, I'm taking notes, figuring out what I'm going to do next. But in the meantime I'm sticking with my air mattress. I might not get the happy happy joy joy look the women on the box get, but the mattress reminds me that maybe you don't have what you want right this minute, but this is the next best thing to have. And when all is said and done, that is not a bad thing.
One thing stays the same: I have to make my bed. And that's still a chore.
