So, let’s talk about my new bed. I love this bed. It’s one of those fancy-schmancy beds that can raise the head section and/or the foot section as well as relax you with its several options of massage features! Sleep should elude me no more!
And, indeed, with the head raised about a 3-count lift and the massage on medium speed, I am able to get about 7 hours of uninterrupted sleep. The massage feature has a timer. So I set it for 10 minutes and was asleep before it turned itself off. How wonderful!
Care-taking of this bed is simple. Just rotate the mattress every couple of months. That means to move the ‘head’ to the ‘foot’ and vice versa. This doesn’t sound too complicated, but I would need another person to help lift because of the size of the mattress. It is about 5 feet x 7.5 feet (the size of a small room) and 18” deep.
So, yesterday morning, I bribed one of my best friends by offering her coffee if she would come over and help me rotate my mattress. I think I’ve read somewhere that this is one of those tasks on the “that’s what friends are for” list, right? Of course, it is! She arrived and we decided to have a coffee first and catch up on our recent activities.
After finishing our coffee, we went into the bedroom, looked at the mattress (beast), and tried to formulate a plan. We positioned ourselves at opposite ends and decided to turn the mattress by grabbing a corner and trying to push the mattress clock-wise. We managed a great ‘heave’ and heard a loud ripping sound. This is not good! We dropped the corners and I began to investigate where that sound came from. The mattress was really stuck and didn’t want to move at all. I discovered two really wide stripes of Velcro which were acting as connectors to the frame so the mattress would not slip when the head or foot would raise.
Thinking ‘problem-solving 101,’ the idea struck me that I could crawl in between the mattress and the frame positioning myself between the Velcro strips. This should keep the strips from connecting and I would be able to raise the mattress with my feet. (Even I am laughing at this image in my mind…). I pushed up with my legs and the mattress raised up only to pin my friend between the corner of the room and the mattress edge on her side. Success with the mattress raised up, but she was pinned and I was now stuck to the Velcro on the frame section. At this point, I wondered if anyone at the manufacturing facility that made these bed parts tried to rotate a mattress to see how it actually worked. My guess is: probably not!
With a few more grunts and groans, my friend and I were able to accomplish this task. The mattress was rotated. She was un-pinned and I was un-stuck. Alas, we survived the altercation and still have our ‘independent women’ egos intact.
In another couple of months, this issue probably will raise its ugly head again when it is time to rotate the mattress. I vow to find a better way to make this happen.
Perhaps, it would just be easier to rotate me!
Just a thought …
Funny! I can see you calling 911 and telling the dispatcher you need the fire department to respond to your emergency. But that couldn’t happen if your arms were pinned under the mattress!