sweet dreams

we've recently found ourselves in a bedding crisis. i wake almost every morning with an aching back. often, i can't wait to get out of bed, no matter how early it is, because the bed is just so damned uncomfortable. we have a double bed. a futon.

throughout most of my adult life, i have slept on futons. there was a brief futon break in grad school, after i purchased the cheapest possible mattress and box spring upon arriving in houston. but it gave out quickly, as one might imagine. j and i shared an extremely soft mattress set for a while, it nearly broke my spine. the futon we have been sleeping on for the past four years isn't any better, and it seems to have gotten worse lately. or, maybe we are just getting old.

it doesn't help that a certain little person finds his way into the bed at some point in the wee hours of the morning. i wouldn't really mind that, if only the bed were a bit bigger.plus, carl's feet hang over the end of the bed, for crissake!

in a desperate last ditch effort, i switched our bed futon, with the one on the couch. it was lumpier than the other one, and seemed to sort of turn up on the edges--like a raft. horrible.

we both agreed that we'd like to get a king-sized bed, and a nice one. problem is, we don't have that kind of money. anything we could afford would probably not be an improvement on what we currently have. we found ourselves torn between the realities of our financial situation, and our belief that we should be kind to our bodies.

then a little angel posted on facebook that good friends of hers were selling a like-new, high-dollar, stearns & foster, king-sized mattress and box spring for a hundred bucks. though the post was over a day old, and someone had already responded, i called her immediately. within the hour, i had purchased the (immaculate) bed, and arranged to have it picked up by yet another angel (with a truck). the owners even threw in a non-crinkly mattress protector, a mattress pad, two sets of king-sized sheets, and a bed spread-- all in excellent condition. i told them that i felt like we'd won the lottery.

last night, we had the best night's sleep in years--maybe decades! it is so firm, spacious and wonderful in every way, i can hardly believe it's actually sitting there, in our very own bedroom. since he's only had a chance to bounce on beds-with-springs during vacations, cosmo, too was thrilled. our heartfelt thanks to all those who made this possible. we rest easy, because of you.