It's OK To Not Make Your Bed Sometimes...Isn't It?!

There were rules around my house when I was growing up concerning my bed.  You were to always make your bed upon rising.  No sitting on the bed after it was made.  And never, NEVER were you to jump on the bed.  Well, always being one who believed in "fracturing" my fair share of rules, I'm not sure why I obeyed the "Bed Rules".

As to why these rules were so important to my mother, I do not know.  Perhaps they were ingrained in her as a child.  Or maybe she knew what the Monkey Mommy knew:

                                  5 Little monkeys jumping on the bed
                                  One fell off and bumped his head
                                  Mama called the doctor and the doctor said...
                                  NO MORE MONKEYS JUMPING ON THE BED!

Whatever her reasons were for the rules, one can only imagine the twitching fit I almost had when in my late 20's, a friend who was traveling with Caitlin and me entered our hotel room, grabbed Caitlin, thrust her upon the bed and said, "It's time to jump on the bed!"

As the years passed, I insisted on making my bed before I would leave the house.  I also insisted on my children making their beds before school every day and when they didn't, I would dutifully make it for them.  These "Bed Rules" were ingrained in MY mind now.

And then one day I became a YaYa.  They say becoming a grandparent changes you and indeed it does.  There are now days when the grands are visiting when I simply pull my bedroom door closed and behind it lurks an unmade bed.  And I feel OK with that...sometimes.  Oh, of course, there is always that pull to stop and make it whenever I walk through the room and see all of those crumpled sheets during the day but for the most part I just leave it alone.  And then the Hubby comes in and says, "I have been married to you for over thirty-two years and there is one thing you have always done...make the bed every day.  I noticed you didn't make it twice this week."  UGH!  Really?!  This followed by, "Not that it bothers me, it's just an observation."  I think he threw that in because he noticed the look in my eye that was going to be followed by the reply, "And when was the last time YOU made the bed?"

So, although it has taken me over fifty years to learn this lesson, I have learned it's OK to not make the bed every day.  It's OK to sit on the bed after it's been made; after all, you're the one who made it.  And it's OK to sometimes jump on the bed with your YaYa!  Rules...many are self-imposed and just not worth the worry.  After all, playing for the day trumps making the bed when the grands are visiting!