“When mama ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy,” might be the statement that best describes the premise for my column this week.
A little more than a month ago, I was eagerly painting my two-year-old’s room as we transitioned him from the crib into a big-boy bed.
I’m thrilled to say that is going extremely well – outside of the two times he has fallen out of bed.
In order to make that transition happen, Brenner got Kennedy’s bed. Kennedy got our bed. Thad and I got a new bed.
Are you still with me?
Rewind six weeks, to when Thad and I were shopping for the new mattress. Prior to arriving at the store, I had given more thought as to what the dressers and the headboard might look like than I had given to what kind of mattress we would buy.
We picked out the furniture without a problem and then proceeded to the mattress section.
We tried this one and that one. We laid on our backs and our stomachs. We sat on the edge and bounced and eventually it became clear to us that we were both looking for something entirely different.
Even though we have shared the same bed for nearly twelve years of our married life, we were suddenly having a difficult time agreeing upon the mattress’ firmness.
He liked the firmer mattress. I thought it felt like a piece of plywood. I preferred the softer mattress - something more inviting. He thought it was too soft.
After circling the showroom floor several times and nearly wearing out the soles of our salesman’s shoes, we settled on a mattress.
I wasn’t completely convinced it was the right mattress, but Thad is usually right - yes, I did just admit that - so I decided to end the disagreement and willingly go along with his selection.
Then the mattress and bedroom set arrived. First, let me just say how extremely pleased I was with our choice of furniture. It fits the room perfectly and I couldn’t love it more! Now let me just say how incredibly disappointed I was with the mattress. It was harder than “plywood” I remembered trying out in the store.
At first, I tried not to complain – really, I did. But after only a few days of sleeping – or not sleeping – it was clear that something had to be done.
Secretly, I think the mattress was harder than Thad remembered too because he didn’t put up a fight when I demanded he look into the money-back guarantee offered upon purchase!)
Turns out, the store rakes you over the coals so badly for pick-up and delivery fees of a new mattress that it wasn’t worth the hassle of looking for a new bed.
Instead, I’m happy to say that I have finally found sleep again after we purchased a foam mattress topper. I was not thrilled about spending more money, but my back is no longer aching and my joints are no longer throbbing. Better yet, I’m no longer complaining and that is worth a pretty penny – just ask Thad!
“When mama’s happy, everybody is happy!”