Sunday, November 20, 2011

Perfect Sleep

"How blessed are some people, whose lives have no fears, no dreads, to whom sleep is a blessing that comes nightly and brings nothing but sweet dreams."
Stoker, Dracula
Perfect Sleeper
Everyone in my life knows that I have always had sleep issues.  Anyone who has ever gotten between me and a good night's sleep has (barely) lived to tell the tale.  I am happy and in a great mood when I get a full night's sleep.  When I don't, I am beyond grouchy.  Often, I just can't sleep.  It has nothing to do with another human being.  I toss.  I turn.  I get up and "prowl-" which means I tidy the kitchen.  I take dry clothes out of the dryer.  I fold the dry clothes.  I take wet clothes from the washer and put them into the dryer and get that started.  I put a load of dirty clothes into the washer and get that started.  When I can't think of anything else to do, I go back to bed.  This very often happens on a work night.  I try to avoid turning on the television or getting on the internet.
The mattress that we've been sleeping on was the one that I bought when I got divorced.  That was 1989.  It was a cheap mattress.   I bought the queen pillow top mattress and box springs and brass headboard with porcelain knobs for a small sum of money.  At the time it was heavenly.  Fast-forward to the past few years- frequently I had to get out of bed because my body was hurting.  I am a side sleeper.  Recently I thought my right shoulder socket was blown.  I couldn't begin to sleep on my right shoulder for the pain. 
A few months ago I began my campaign to redo the bedroom- paint the ceiling, get a new ceiling light, paint the walls and get some new inexpensive carpet.  (The bedroom is the only room in the house that still has carpet.)  In this house, in this relationship, I begin the campaign at least three to six months before I hope it happens.  It takes a while for me to convince him that my great idea is actually his great idea.  (There may be a few of you out there who know what I'm talking about.)  About a week before my birthday, (October 20) he announced that he was getting me a bed for my birthday.  Great.  I mean, really.  Great- we are getting a new bed.  The first night that we shopped for a new bed was on my birthday.  The evening of my birthday.  Which was pretty crappy in my opinion.  Which was great because we were finally shopping for a new bed even if it was in the rain and on my birthday.  That night we went to Sam's Club and HH Gregg and Big Lots.  Sam's Club had these fabulous Serta mattresses.  I could have went home with any that they had on the floor.  HH Gregg wants a million dollars for any mattress on their showroom floor and none of them were as nice as what Sam's Club had to offer.  Big Lots didn't have anything at all that appealed to me on any level.  After that he told me that since he could sleep on a rock, why don't I just go out and shop for a bed and let him know what I wanted?  I went to another local place- Pate's in Ellettsville.  The salesman was a southern gentleman that hailed from near Ashville, NC.  Their beds were nice.  I probably could have bought one there but in the end, despite the salesman saying he could work with us on the price, some of their beds were more expensive than Sam's Club.  And I told Doug that this was one time that I didn't want to buy local- that I wanted to go with the huge box store.  I said "who knows if the local place will be here if something goes wrong?  We can feel fairly secure in the fact that Sam's Club (after taking over the world) isn't going anywhere." 
So, I joined Sam's Club. I have always wanted to join Sam's Club.  He has always said "I'm not going to pay to shop somewhere!"  So, I paid for the membership- which he will enjoy especially when we get the cheapest price on gasoline in town with my membership card.  (Sorry to the WalMart haters out there-haters gonna hate- and by the way, I'm not too keen on WalMart, either.)
Now, I have a Serta Perfect Sleeper which is the official mattress of the National Sleep Foundation.  I can miraculously once again sleep on my right shoulder.  I can't tell when he gets out of bed.  It is fantabulous. 
And it is sky-high.  I am the princess and the pea.  Although all you can see from the photo is that it is higher than my washstand bedside table.  When I sit up to get out of this bed I have to take a little leap.  My feet don't touch the ground- just my toes.  I am five foot two.  I use my cell phone as my alarm clock and I always leave it on the floor beside the bed- I have to lean out of the bed to reach my phone. 
Paul Simon is playing B-town tonight.  The Punch Brothers are opening for him.  I would have loved to have been at this concert.  But as he says..."I got you a new bed."  The concert is sold out so we can listen to it on the radio.
This princess is happy.

10 comments:

ain't for city gals said...

Sometimes it just doesn't take much to make us happy ...btw..my birthday is Oct 21..let's celebrate doing something really fun next year?

Anonymous said...

Listen to the concert in your new bed. ;)

We got a "princess pea" bed a few years ago. My feet cannot touch the ground. If I drop something off the bed then I have to get out of it to get it; there's no leaning over or I would topple out!

Karen thisoldhouse2.com said...

A good mattress is soooo important. I'm a side sleeper too, and lately my left shoulder has been complaining. But our bed is only a year old.. so I have to to suck it up. :-)

TARYTERRE said...

You have tested the waters. And come out the other side a winner. Congratulations. I'm making no progress whatsoever. Been mattress hunting for 2 plus years. Ours is well over 20 years old. My problem is the height of the new ones. I am knee high to a grasshopper and don't want to have to use a step stool to get into bed or trip on my way out. So I refuse to buy a new one. At a standstill. No resolution in sight. So our backs, knees, shoulders suffer the sagging one we have. Take care.

^..^Corgidogmama said...

Oh dear...now, no excuse for being grouchy!!
It's amazing how a new mattress, and a good one can make "night" a happy time again.
Happy dreams!

Holly said...

Nothing like a good nights sleep. So important. I've never had problems sleeping until just recently. We are in the market for a new bed also. Since I like it soft and Brian likes a hard bed I think we are going with a sleep number. Hope you continue to have sweet dreams!

Brian Miller said...

nice...isnt it amazing how much a nice mattress will change things...i tend to prowl too...i wake up often with writing ideas and have to get up and record them or i will lose them...and then it is hard to go back...nice birthday present...

Chatty Crone said...

Sounds like you have got a lot more good sleep coming! sandie

Anonymous said...

I love the new comforter! Can't believe it has taken me so long to get on here. Love you!

Donna said...

Love it! Love your humor within, too. I hear ya, sista. Hear ya. I, too, start little campaigns well ahead of when I expect them to come to pass. The boys were a little slow in junior high and they still are.

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