Making The Bed

Obedient as I am, I was brought up to know that I needed to make the bed every morning but I really had no idea why until recently, and finally an explanation finally made sense.

When you crawl out of bed, you really have no idea what your day is going to bring. Making your bed is an act that no matter what your bedroom looks like around it, the made bed brings a bit of order to the area. And when you re enter your room, a made bed stands out as something that you can count on to bring a feeling of comfort, no matter what your day has been like.

The last seven days my bed making has been my way to start my day off easily, neatly. I climb out, pull up the covers on my side, tuck the spread under the pillow and I am done. My husband has been vacationing, it was a good departure and a feeling of order seemed to just hang in the air.

So much happened in that week of calm and because in my state of mind, I was able to notice most of it. But most of all I noticed the easy feeling of order. I noticed my day starting off with one simple task added that transformed my thought process every time I opened my bedroom door. I noticed that everything seemed to stay neater. This being said, a part of my husband's personality is that he is a trailer. When he enters the house or a room, you can tell exactly where he has been because he leaves a trail behind him. Oddly, never his shoes though but that is a whole other chapter. He is not difficult to keep up with as he is habitual, therefor predictable and other than on his side of our bedroom and in the kitchen, he really is not all that messy. I noticed that the rest of the family seemed to come together and gather for dinner, something that is a trigger for me so we rarely do. I noticed

that my husband sounded happy and had things to tell me about. For the first time in a long time his phone calls were longer than an obligatory 3 to 5 minutes. It felt good to hear him that content.

I think what I noticed the most was that I had the freedom to notice. I wasn't consumed with taking care of making sure that the world was as perfect as possible for someone else's contentment. I do this sometimes by performing routine tasks for the wrong reasons and sometimes by avoiding tasks and topics. I found myself going to bed late and waking up early for the purpose of making the most of every recharging moment. The week went by fast and while I missed my husband, I was able to notice what I was too busy to realize before. That what has been missing in our relationship isn't the love or desire to be together. It is the freedom to move about freely, without explanation or questions. This is for both of us. He did things on his own that I would have talked him out of due to my own fears or desires. And the best part, he enjoyed them. It is the freedom to take one small task such as making the bed, and allowing it to provide a recurring feeling of contentment. The recharge of this simple life hack has immeasurable benefits when you are open to noticing what it provides.