By Rosie Preston
There have been times in my life during which weird situations have occurred.
I recently asked myself, “Do other people have peculiar experiences?” For example, I experienced one such situation the other night, and it was something I could not in a million years imagined happening.
I got into bed and went to sleep but soon woke up with my back in pain. As I struggled to find a comfortable position, I finally realized it was impossible since the mattress seemed to be lower in the middle of the bed. I got up, and sure enough, this result stemmed from a decision I made decades ago when I requested that my husband go to Walmart and buy a couple of under-the-bed storage containers. He did so, but our bed was too low to slide the containers under it. I then asked if he would put bricks under the four corners of the bed. He did so, and the containers fit perfectly. I now had storage for photos and things I save, mostly for sentimental reasons.
However, the bed was too high for my short legs, so I had to turn into a gymnast to jump on the bed at night. In the morning, I had to rock my body back and forth until I could get in position for my feet to almost touch the floor. I then had to perform a bit of a slide in order to drop a few inches to the floor. Isn’t it amazing how something like this eventually falls into a regular routine?
Back in the present, the time has come for me to lower my bed to its original position on the floor due to the fact that after I have shoulder surgery, I won’t have to jump around like a monkey. Phil immediately found that it was too difficult a job for one man, so he called our friend Frankie to help him remove the bricks. Frankie arrived within fifteen minutes and I thought, “Here comes my superhero!”
Since the bricks have been removed, I’ve slept better than I have in years. In fact, I don’t want to leave my comfortable bed in the morning. There is also the possibility that perhaps I’m a nicer person when I wake up. I asked Phil the other day if he remembered the first time we met when I informed him that I was not a morning person. I think he had wanted me to go fishing with him very early in the day, and I informed him that nothing gets up that early unless it’s an emergency.
Yesterday morning, I noticed something that I had not seen in years – my fan was blowing the curtain, and a peep of sunshine was showing through! Yes, now that my mattress is in the correct position, I’m definitely a calmer, nicer and joyful person in the mornings!
Compiled by Elisabeth Deane, the book “The Gift of Friendship” is a collection of warm and beautiful thoughts about the love of one heart for another. My mother owned a copy, and I would like to add the word “family” along with the gift of friendship, because many times we find a great friend in our immediate family who shares our most important and heartfelt life events.
Here is one of my favorite passages from the book: “My coat and I live comfortably together. It has assumed all my wrinkles, does not hurt me anywhere, has molded itself on my deformities and is complacent to all my movements. I only feel its presence because it keeps me warm. Old coats and old friends are the same thing.”
That passage reminds me that we should all find and enjoy the comfort around us every day. My sleep might be disturbed, and I might suffer through a negative morning, but as a senior citizen, I can go back to bed and sleep for a while longer. It took me a long time as I got older to relax and take care of my back, as well as realizing that it’s okay if I have to change my plans. I’m not working outside the home anymore and I don’t have a schedule. I can open my calendar and have so many days to choose the time, which brings a wonderful sense of freedom!
Contact Rosie Preston at rosie.preston@yahoo.com.