I moved into my apartment back in mid-July, into the guest room while my friend was packing up and preparing to move out a couple weeks later. But, as has come to be expected in 2020, those plans didn’t unfold in the way I had thought.
I made myself at home in that guest bedroom, painting it to be more my style, and setting up my home office. It was cramped. It wasn’t ideal, but it ended up lasting for 3 months. For the first month of that time, I was sleeping on a lumpy futon mattress. I hated it.
So I started shopping for mattresses, and in my head, I heard the generic advice I’ve received over the years, informing me that of all the things I should splurge on, it needs to be on shoes and mattresses. I knew I wasn’t going cheap this time, but I wanted to do research on what would be best for me.
I’m a back- and side-sleeper. I learned that some options are only optimized for one type of sleeper. I also wanted to make sure that there were no animal products used in the materials, because those can show up in the most unassuming places (hello, toilet paper!?). And even though I was willing to spend a good chunk of change on a good mattress, I wasn’t prepared to completely break the bank.
I eventually landed on WinkBeds, as I was pleased with the reviews of their Luxury Firm mattress. When it arrived, it was wrapped up like a burrito, and surprisingly, it smelled like fresh baked cookies when it unrolled. I took those as good signs.
Although I now I had a mattress – a good one actually – I didn’t yet have a bed. I kept the mattress on the floor, visible to all those with whom I joined Zoom calls. Every time I got in and out of bed, it felt weird. It felt… immature.
I wanted a new bed, and I certainly wanted this memory of sleeping my first night in it, but for months, I was waiting to buy one for a couple reasons: the guest room didn’t really have enough space; and, more significantly, I was only planning on staying in Florida if Biden won the election.
Within a few days after Biden was declared the President-Elect, I went shopping for a bed. Since I was disappointed with reviews of beds I found online, I decided to actually go into a furniture store. And, while I was there, what harm would it do to try sitting on a few sofas?
That shopping trip helped me realize that I hate the sleigh bed style. I look at it and all I can imagine is Santa and Mrs. Claus in one. You know, doing things. Ew. It’s in your head now, too, right? Sorry.
I discovered I like contemporary styles, instead. I got a bed with shelves in the headboard, in a nice, dark wood: merlot is the official color. I thought it was just for wine, but I learned a bunch on that visit to the furniture store.
Last night was my first night sleeping in my new bed, and it was fabulous. In my new master bedroom, with its freshly painted walls and newly installed blinds, I slept soundly. My Fitbit tracked me as having slept a whopping 7hrs 13min, which is half an hour more than my average night’s sleep.
I feel like I’ve graduated, leveled up, or become more of an adult now that I have a real bed, with a good mattress. In this area, at least, I feel my maturity has returned.
My Memory List 