We Don’t Bounce a Lot of Quarters Around Here
By GlindaQuoted from Erma Bombeck, one of my all-time favorite authors:
No one ever died from sleeping in an unmade bed. I have known mothers who remake the bed after their children do it because there is wrinkle in the spread or the blanket is on crooked. This is sick.
Judge me if you must, but Erma and I are on the same page.
As a child, my mother forced me to make my bed every morning. I never saw the point, unless the covers were so out of order that you couldn’t pull them over yourself completely. Then, I certainly saw the wisdom of straightening them out.
I confess to not being a stickler about the Munchkin making his own bed. In fact, I don’t really remember the last time he did it.
It doesn’t help that he has an all-in-one bed, the kind with the mattress on top like a bunkbed, and drawers and a desk underneath. I certainly can’t make it up the ladder to inspect it, or let’s just say I don’t want to make it up the ladder to inspect it, shall we. It’s difficult to make a bed that you must sit on in order to fix the blankets, so I give him a pass.
But to be honest, even if he didn’t have a bed like that, I probably wouldn’t force him to do it all the time, only when I was feeling the need to be anal about something fairly innocuous.
Which happens more often than you would think, but still not a priority.
My track record with my own bed is pretty poor, especially since our daughter is sleeping in it as well. Since she also naps there, it means I would have to make it twice a day and mama just does not have the time for that.
But parenting is all about picking your battles, and I’d rather save mine for the thousands of Legos on the floor.
April 19th, 2011 at 8:26 am
I’m with you. Our beds get properly “made” once a week, when I change the bedding. After that, the covers just get straightened. If they’re completely askew to the point where it’s aggravating, then I’ll re-make it, but certainly not with the same level of precision. With our kids, it’ll be the same way — I want them to know HOW to properly make a bed, but if they do that once a week, and just straighten their covers on all other mornings, then I’m content with that.
April 19th, 2011 at 9:30 am
How do you feel about unmarried adults without children? I have to admit I am a bit judgy about certain things, which is completely ironic considering I spend my life in my (ten-year old) gym clothes. But when I was dating, I totally judged a man by whether his bed was made, whether his house was clean, and whether his shoes were shined and well maintained. As in, I was not looking for someone who was looking for a maid, although I suppose if he had a dirty, messy house and sloppy clothes, it might have meant he was happy with such and was not seeking someone who would change how things were done chez him.
April 20th, 2011 at 2:32 am
I know quite a few people without kids who don’t make their bed, and I’m fine with that!
Like I said, I think it only really matters when the sheets/blankets are all totally messed up, and then it is more of a comfort issue than anything else.
I say unmade beds for everyone!
😉
April 19th, 2011 at 9:33 am
About unmarried adults without children who do not make their beds, that is. Not about unmarried childless adults in general.
April 19th, 2011 at 11:03 am
Eh why bother? My own bed is never made unless I just changed the sheets.