During the Landmark’s Forum’s SELP program, I declared myself as, ”infinite possible” so BlogAdda decides to challenge my infinite possibilities. It was invent words last week, it is invent gadgets this week. Hmm. What is the one thing that needs to be done every day but I don’t feel like doing it all? I do not need to go my Mango Meadows or any other spiritual retreat for this. I can rattle a whole lot like it can simply sums up household drudgery.
The stink of a sunken sink is terrible and it kind of makes me angry. I did things like using a schedule, the time grid, nothing really worked. My mother taught me delegate unpleasant tasks, I tried foisting it on my husband, daughters that did not work. I even tried a domestic help but somehow I would land up still doing it. Of all the drudgery the dragon one is having to see untidy bed.
When we were growing up, there was no choice because there were no cots. So mattresses had to be rolled and piled one over the other. As we could not reach the top, Bhaghi, or Kamala or mom did it. We were expected to fold the bed sheets, well to be honest we just clumped them together and passed it off as folded.
When we grew older and moved to the town, then the cots arrived. Mattresses did not have to be rolled or unrolled. But sheets now had to spread and folded. As part of our community service at school we had to work as nursing assistance at the Kasturba Hospital Manipal and Susamma Auntie who was the nursing superintendent then, taught us how to actually make a bed. Probably that has made me finicky but untidy beds, do make me angry.
Ever wondered why should one make the bed at all, be it rolling the mattress when you don’t have a cot or folding the sheets and tucking the sheet corners when you have a cot and mattress?
- First and foremost, it gives a closure, once the rumpled sheets are folded and straighten, the bed cover duly spread the mind seem to understand that Noddyland has shut its gates for the next few hours.
- It defines the onset of a new day. The infusion of new energy. the groggy hangover of sleep loses its power over us.
- The is a sense of tidiness that reduces clutter and clutter means blocked energies.
I have heard this great idiom that no one has ever died from sleeping in an unmade bed. I have also known mothers who remake the bed after their children have done, I am guilty of this too on the rare occasions that my kids make their bed. It is worse about Mr.D a tidy bed somehow seem to bother him.
Vulgar curiosity about this making the bed, and not making the bed, I googled, “how many people make their beds.” Quite a few people seemed to have googled this. And my own guess is most of them are mothers. Any way the statistics goes. In a survey of 68,000 people by Hunch.com 59% don’t make their bed, 12% pay a housekeeper to make it for them, while 27% actually make their beds. Now out of the percentage of people who made their beds, 71% considered themselves happy while 62% of non-bedmakers admitted that they were unhappy. It appears that people who make their beds tend like their jobs, own a home, exercise regularly and feel well rested. While non-bedmakers tend not like their jobs, rent apartments avoid gym, and wake up tired.
Whew! I wonder how it works if mama, kicks you out of bed, makes your bed. Probably it will make a Cinderella out of her. So if I could ever invent something that will help me do a task well, I would invent an alarm, that would not ring, but would eject the slumberheads right out of bed, fold up the sheets and straighten the pillow, tuck the corners and roll on the bed cover.
I would let the bed, have its respite, after all so much of our life is played out on the bed, births, deaths, passions, dreams, it holds the fundamental moments of our fragile existence.
This post was to have been part of write over weekend initiative of BlogAdda, but the gadget I tried to invent, went to sleep.
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