It's happened. I don't even know how I feel about it, but...I am addicted to something that my teenage self would shudder to even think about 20 years ago. Some might say I am a bit late on the band wagon, and others...many others...will just not understand. Some may gasp, some may wonder what in the hell I am thinking...others will welcome me to the dark side.
What is my new addiction, you ask?
I make my bed, EVERY MORNING.
I know, right?!?
And it's nearly a compulsion now. This morning, after I had gotten dressed and cleaned up for the day, I tried to let it go, and walk away. After all, everyone needs a day off from chores, right? So, I grabbed my phone off my night stand and started to walk away, into the kitchen where my coffee machine was waiting patiently for me. I got about 5 steps way from the bedroom door, and couldn't help but turn and look at the bed...cozy looking, yes, but...crumpled and askew. And before I knew it, I set down my phone and started making the bed.
For most of my adult life, unless it was "cleaning day, I never made my bed. Hardly ever, anyway. I made my bed much more often as a teenager, and even then I wasn't consisted about it. "What's the point?" I would say, "It's just going to get all messed up again when we go to bed tonight." Oh I tried creating the habit, like a good girl/housewife, but I just seemed pointless.
Until recently.
Something has clicked. I made my bed not long ago, and, after a particularly busy and exhausting day, I LOVED how it felt to crawl into a nicely made bed. There is something so comforting about that. Plus, it makes the entire master bedroom look neater, more inviting, more like actual grown ups sleep there. I love walking about the house and glancing into my room and knowing that if nothing else gets done, the bed is MADE and its something I can check off my to-do list.
Now, I know that many people have been making their bed for years. My father and step-mother made their bed every morning as I grew up. Without fail, no matter how early in the morning they had to leave the house, no matter if one of them was not feeling well (Of course, I really can't think of a single time either one of them took a sick day at work...hearty, salt of the earth types), no matter if they were getting ready to go to a funeral, that was one of several things that they did, every day. Without fail. My older brother often made his bed. My brother is several years older than me, and moved out of the house shortly after I moved in, but still...you could almost guarantee his bed was made every morning. Occasionally, during the short time we lived in the same house, he would be running late for work and maybe his bed didn't get made, but then on his lunch break, he came home and made it. My mother made her bed more often than not as well. I am telling you that I was shown example after example all while growing up that one should make their bed. Me...well I was a bit of a rebellious spirit, and I thought of it as just one more thing I HAD to do, and if I *HAD* to do it, I didn't want to do it, so I fought against it. "I do what I want!!" was my mindset. (Much more trouble for me than it was worth, but...rebellious and stubborn was I, and I am sure I gave my parents fits of frustration. I know this because I now have a 14 year old daughter whom I love dearly, but she is making my hair fall out because she is much like I was at her age.)
I tried getting into the habit over my adult years. But I could never stick with it because, as I became an adult, especially after I had married and started having children, my to-do list was chock full of more important things to do. "I don't have time to make my bed...I have to make a grocery list/get ready to go talk to a teacher/run by the bank/randomly scrub a room/write emails/check Facebook", etc. There was always something more important to do, and to be honest, I didn't care about making my bed.
Today, I do. I can't help it. Dear God, I have become one of "them".
Try it. Seriously. If you are not already a bed maker (and I know some of you are not), seriously try it. Make your bed every day for a week, no excuses. It is going to take less than 5 minutes, you will have something accomplished for your day, and you will start feeling the exhilaration that comes with having a neatly made bed waiting for you at night. It really does feel good.
Until next time,
XOXO
Sam
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