Tuesday, May 17, 2011

So I'm on the way to bed

I was pulling back the covers last night and preparing to settle into bed.  I arranged the pillows into the specific position that they must be in for the first part of my nightly routine (ice/ heat on the effected area, Bible reading, prayers).  I shuffled to the bathroom for the regular ablutions,then retrieved the ice pack from the freezer and the heat pack from the microwave.  Finally I dragged myself back to my room and gently found the "position of comfort" that my physio talks about.  All the while I was thinking that it had been only a few hours ago that I made the bed.  Not only did I make the bed that afternoon but I also changed the sheets.  This means I had changed the  pillow cases, fluffed pillows, smoothed over the doona and placed the pillows in a way that even a great designer would approve.  I had probably spent at least half an hour making my bed and it took about 4 minutes for me to mess it all up again.

So, some things in life are a little bit pointless.  Come on, admit it... you don't make the bed unless you are having visitors who might glance towards your bed as they pass the bedroom door on the way to the bathroom.  Most days, I don't bother.  Most days, I don't have time!  Why is it that we feel compelled to "make the bed?"  If we do it because our mother did and our nanna did and their mother did and their nanna did.  Why did they do it?  Why is a bed considered "unmade" just because the doona is pulled back and the sheets are in a tangle?  Who says that the pillows should be at the head of the bed?  Why can't they stay in my special configuration?

I will admit that coming home to a tidy house and flopping down on a made bed is nice.  I will also concede that my made bed is much more aesthetically pleasing to the weary eye or in fact any eye that may care to wander that way.  But considering how pointless this exercise is, in that we undo it almost as soon as we are done doing it, it makes me wonder why we think this looks better.

I also wonder if people all over the world stopped making their beds (like I mean everyone, all at once, like it's totally illegal) would we eventually come to the conclusion that an unmade bed is better?  or would we always be wondering why our bed seems uninviting?

I am a teacher, I have returned to work.  My government computer does not work.  I have not been paid in over a month.  Is it any wonder why I am fixating on the phenomena of the unmade bed?!!!