What a night!!!

Well, what a beginning of the night.  I really did climb those stairs, all fourteen of them to our snug and orderly bedroom.  My bed looked so inviting, and I brushed my teeth and tried to snuggle in to this usually comforting and comfortable bed.

We bought a new mattress at the beginning of the year.  And we are quite pleased with our purchase.  The old mattress — well, I always said that we had the best mattress in the world.  It was the first queen sized mattress we owned, and we purchased it soon after we moved to Delaware, 26 years ago.  We bought it used, but almost new.  You see, someone who worked at Daddy’s nursing home had purchased this mattress, and then her husband became ill.  He actually passed away while sleeping on this mattress, and she couldn’t bear to keep it.  It was practically new.  And there was the thought that someone had died while sleeping on the mattress, but we were young, the price was cheap, the mattress was incredibly comfortable, and we decided that it wouldn’t bother us.  Actually, and in absolute honesty– it didn’t.

But the years rolled on as they are wont to do– we had two more babies, and we got older.  The mattress still seemed so wonderful.  Whenever we went away, one of the best parts of coming home was sinking into our wonderful bed and  letting it’s familiar comfort surround us.  But old mattresses wear out, or so they say.  And both Certain Man and I have had various aches and pains and so I started reading up on mattresses, and talking to Certain Man about the fact that it was proabably time to replace our lair.  We both thought it might help some of the aches and pains, Certain Man in particular is plagued with restless leg syndrome at times, and thought there might be a miracle somewhere for that– but there was always the issue of cost.  Good mattresses cost like smoke and we were loathe to come up with that kind of money when our old one was so comfortable.

When my Sweet Mama gave us a sizable gift for Christmas, we decided that we would use that for this long desired purchase.  So we set out for Janosiks one afternoon right after the new year and found this set and were immediately happy with it.  We brought it home, Certain Man got it set up yet that night, and we went through the usual adjustment — “If I don’t start sleeping better on this mattress soon, I’m going to move to the spare room” kind of thing.  He couldn’t very well take it back — you can’t really return mattresses — plus we had gotten rid of “Old Faithful” I think almost the day after we got the new one.  We persevered, and by the time I went for this second replacement, we were pretty much happy with our new mattress.  I would often snuggle under the blankets in the comfort of our good bed and think of the many, many women over this old world that don’t begin to have it as good as I do, and would thank God for all His many blessings to me.  Somehow, this comfortable bed made me acutely aware of how blessed I am.

Last night, back in my comfy bed at last, I discovered that I was anything but comfortable.  I put my knee out as straight as I could .  Wowser!  That really hurt!.  I’m a back sleeper, so I thought that maybe it just needed some time.  Certain Man observed all my “rutching” around with amusement. 

Finally he said, “I really think that if we traded sides, you should be able to better position yourself.” 

I didn’t see how it would help, except it would protect it from being bumped by a sleeping, restless husband.  The problem is, I am so unaccustomed to sleeping on his side of the bed that it makes me really uncomfortable just to be over there while he is on “my side”.  (I know, I know.  People are going to think I am crazy.  Others of you — probably the “very married” ones– will understand perfectly!)  So, I kept rearranging my leg, alternating this position with that and finally said, “Sweetheart, rather than going back down stairs to sleep, let’s try the switching sides business.” 

“Fine,” he said, agreeably.  He didn’t seem to be making much progress, getting to sleep on his side of the bed.  “Do you want to just scoot on over here, or what?”

“There is no ‘scooting on over anywhere’ with me at this point.” I said a bit stuffily, “It’s a whole lot easier to walk that it is to scoot!”  So I got out of bed, and walked around to his side.  I got my middle of the night meds arranged, and I got my drink and I sat on the edge of the bed and swung my left leg in and then lifted my right leg carefully up and onto the smooth sheets.  Then began again the arranging, the trying this and that.  I tried on my side.  That hurt.  I tried bending it just a smidgen and laying it just a mite off to the side.  That hurt.  I tried bringing my left foot up and using it to hold the right foot so the knee was just a little bit bent.  Now that felt pretty good until I started to doze off, my left foot slid down and the knee went straight (ish).  That hurt.  I finally decided that I would just lie there quietly until Certain Man went to sleep, and then maybe I could figure something out.  It worries him so much when he knows that I can’t sleep that he can’t sleep either.  So I lay there, staring into the darkness, praying for people that I loved and wishing that I would fall asleep.

Certain Man turned on one side.  Then he turned on the other.  Then he lay on his back.  Then he asked me if I was doing okay.  Yes, I was.  He started his routine all over again, and he couldn’t find a comfortable spot to settle.  The minutes rolled on.  A loud vehicle went down the road and I thought it sounded like it turned into our chicken house driveway.  I half expected Certain Man to say something, but he wasn’t talking much.  Just rutching around.  All of the sudden he put his head up, looked over into my sleepless eyes and said, “You aren’t going to be able to sleep a wink up here, are you?”

“I don’t know, Sweetheart.  I’m afraid not.  At least I haven’t yet.” 

“I think we might just as well go downstairs,” he said decisively.  “There ain’t no reason for us to be up here and not able to sleep when we could be downstairs and getting a good night’s rest.  Anyway, I’ve got the ‘fidgets’ and can’t seem to get comfortable.”  (I didn’t say it, but I thought, “It’s all because we are on the wrong sides of the bed!”)

So we made our bed, and descended back downstairs.  Me to my trusty recliner, and he to the couch.  Where we both enjoyed a most refreshing night’s sleep.  I feel better this morning than I have for quite a while, and it’s a good thing.  I have physical therapy any minute now, and it’s the first time for some days that I don’t feel like crying at the thought! 

And that is the news from Shady Acres, where the sunshine is splashed all over everything, and Friend Ruby is making order out of the chaos, and life is looking brighter by the minute.