love/hate

Saturday, February 13th, 2010

There are several things that I have a love/hate relationship with.  The dishwasher.  I love to load it up to the max.  I love how clean it gets my dishes.  I hate unloading it.  Always have.  I love where we live but I hate how far we are from our family.  I love dogs.  I hate dog breath and scooping poop.  It’s just part of life.  You’re not going to love everything.  Trade-offs come with being human.

Today, my focus is on my relationship with a bunk bed.  When I was pregnant with Laura, we moved Hattie out of the nursery and into Abigail’s room.  We bought a bunk bed because that room was too small for two twin beds.  Let me rephrase.  If we had put two twin beds in that room, we couldn’t have fit anything else.  So, Abigail “graduated” to the top bunk.  Hattie moved from her crib into the bottom bunk and never looked back.  We have moved those bunk beds three times and they are still in good shape.  They have storage drawers underneath.  As a result of having bunk beds, the girls have a large amount of clear space in their room.  If you don’t have little girls, I’ll tell you that space is a good thing.  Little girls need room for twirling and puzzles and all of that girl paraphernalia.  (I know boys need space too but I wouldn’t know how to elaborate on that!)  It also gives them their own nook that no one else bothers.

All sounds great, right?  Wrong.  Ever tried to change the sheets on a bunk bed?  We just finished tucking in clean sheets, blankets and comforters on the girls’ beds.  Robert and I are both out of breath and exhausted.  The tucking of the covers involves Robert on the lower bed pushing the top mattress up from underneath.  I am on a stool doing the actual tucking.  It is not easy, graceful, elegant or even attractive to watch.  We struggle like we’re trying to shove a sleeping bag into a tube sock.

Maybe it’s our fault.  We bought the thicker mattresses.  Are we being punished for extravagance?  We even tried not tucking in the covers.  What happened?  Abigail couldn’t keep her feet covered, got cold and ended up in bed with us.  That is NOT an option.

So we are left to the tucking ritual.  It’s not fun but it works.  It’s still better than scooping poop!  🙂