In the market for a bed? If you have or ever expect to have a spouse, children or mammalian pets, I suggest a king.
When I was engaged, my fiancé-now-husband took me to the furniture store and asked me to pick out a bed. Being the princess bride, I knew exactly what I wanted. The queen.
“Are you sure you don’t want a king?” said my fiancé-now-husband.
“Absolutely not!” I said as Close to You swayed through my lovestruck head.
Fast forward fifteen years. Life at the castle looks different than I imagined that day in the furniture store. Bottom line, everyone ends up in my bed.
My baby has always slept in his own bed until this year.
My dog has always slept in her own bed on the floor beside mine until this year.
My husband has always slept in my bed with me until this year. When his snoring became so loud I couldn’t sleep, he was banished to the guest room.
Lonely and in a moment of weakness, I let the dog sleep in my bed once. Guess what happened the next night. She expected to sleep there again. Became a regular fixture.
When work required my husband to be away for a week, my son and I threw a slumber party. What happened next time dad traveled? Yep. Another slumber party.
Seemingly overnight I had gone from sleeping in my bed with my husband to sleeping by myself to sleeping with my dog and my child.
As you read last time in Sleepless in St. Louis, my husband got a sleep machine and his snoring stopped. He returned to my bed, gear in tow. My son wasn’t invited, but he has ways of sneaking in.
“Mom,” he says at 3:30 a.m. as he stands beside my bed. “I had a bad dream.”
“It’s okay, honey,” I say. “Come on in.”
The dog ran from the bed with the advent of the sleep machine. Won’t even stay in the same room now. But in a thunderstorm she instantly appears, whining to be comforted.
“It’s okay, honey,” I say. “Come on in.”
The dog is trembling and pacing acround the mattress. Thunderstorm or not, she abhors the machine.
My son is kicking and stretching his lethal legs diagonally across my space.
And my husband, bless his heart, is fast asleep.
I extricate myself from the entanglement, take my pillow, pick up the dog, and go sleep in the twin bunk.
This Queen needs a good night’s rest.
This Queen needs a king.
I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the LORD sustains me. Psalm 3:5 NIV
Lucky Dogs
My friend Lisa is a foster parent for Senior Dogs 4 Seniors. All the dogs featured in this post are available for adoption through the organization, except for Lucy and Jaspar shown here with their new owners.
Senior Dogs 4 Seniors cares for dogs in the homes of volunteers until they can be placed with loving folks and families.
Lisa has housed as many as eight dogs at once, but recently drew the line at six. And yes, they are allowed to sleep in her bed.
Help Lisa and her husband Cordel get a good night’s rest. Go to seniordogs4seniors.com for more info on what you can do.
BTW Senior Dogs 4 Seniors sponsors an adoption event most Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at the Kirkwood Petco on Lindburgh just north of I-44. Their next event is this Saturday, May 7th.
Oh Aimee! How this echoes the cries of my heart! I long for a king bed. It’s driving me C-R-A-Z-Y! Every morning at 6 am, my children walk sleepily into my room and climb in our tiny bed with us. It’s already overwhelmingly full with a husband who sleeps spread eagle! And lately, we’ve been discussing more kids. All I could think this morning is how if we added another person to this household, we’d have to upgrade the car, the dining room, our bed and all accoutrements! YEAH RIGHT! I headed to the couch…defeated. Sigh…I dream of kings too.
Tiffany, that is too funny! Spread eagle, huh? Sounds like Jeremy needs his own bed! Your comment reminded me of the morning pile on. When Theo stays in his bed the night, first thing in the morning as soon as the sun rises, he’s runs to our bed. He’s done this for as long as I can remember. Burrows under the covers. It’s very sweet, so it’s not that I mind. Like you, I just need more room!
PS–Another little Nevil would be very sweet too!
I have a King size bed on my wish list as well, four is a crowd!
But what a fun and cute crowd it is! I can only imagine. Not interested in adopting a dog, I assume?
Amiee… first off let me say I swear Jeff mentioned sleep apnea waaaay before you came in to the picture. I think he’s been in denial for a LONG time. We’ve also begun the search for a new bed. We’ll be replacing our queen with a King. Caroline has her bad dreams at that time as well, which is killing Tiff since she wakes up at 4:30 to get ready for work. She also swears I have restless leg syndrome, which I deny…… None the less… it’s a kingdom for my queen as well.
Terry, you’re a good man to pursue a king for your queen! Kudos for having your priorities in order.
I suspect you’re right about Jeff. I seem to remember stories about beach retreats… As for the restless leg syndrome, you know what they say: denial is a river in Egypt. Go to the doctor, man. Just do it!
ha! no animals in this house, and the kids never sleep in our room (i’m mean…if someone is scared or sick, i make up a bed on the floor next to me), and i STILL want a king bed. we started our marriage in a full, so upgrading to a queen 2 years later seemed like a dream come true. now, we both talk about how we’d so love the space a king offers…
glad to hear that jeff is sleeping safer!
Thanks, Nicole. Maybe there’s a dog in your future as well as a king size bed…hmm?
Aimee,
I have the same slumber parties w/Benjamin and Julia when daddy travels. 3:30 must be a popular bad dream time because that is usually when Julia wakes me up as well. We do have a king and it is the only way I can catch some sleep. Love the post!
Cheryl
Oh, Cheryl, I’m so glad I’m not the only one! I wonder if the 3:30 thing is just a Theo-Julia thing? Those two are made for each other. I’m showing this to Jeff in hopes that once the house sells (clarification: if ever the house sells) we might consider a larger bed. Thanks for helping me make my case. And thanks for reading. I miss you! You did see my explanation about the thank you note that I still owe you, right? It’s in last Friday’s post…
Of course I did. No thank you necessary. I am one of your biggest fans and faithful readers.
c b
thank you, C, and thank you anyway for your hospitality :) — one of those unwritten cards has your name on it!
Aimee – Thank you for such a beautiful post and for the “shout out” to my rescue. Cordel and I have learned to sleep like mummies, legs together, arms crossed over our bodies, and if you turn on your side? Forget it. You just lost that space. Tell the truth, when you grab your pillow and blanket and head to the other room, do you look back and smile at your pack? I usually do.
Your description of communal slumber is terrific! Thank you for letting me use all those sweet little doggie faces on my blog. I’m partial to Ginger and Rusty as they’re both terriers. Ella and I will have to talk. Not sure she can share the love with another canine in the house. And yes, I do look back and smile at my pack o’ pups. Would rather be snuggling in the pile than alone in the twin bed any day…or night!