Counting Z's

Most of you who read this blog know about my weird joints. Really, most of Flagstaff knows about my weird joints, thanks to Liz and her publishing connections a few years ago. :)

And while my weird joints have been an excellent source of amusement, disbelief, awe and disgust for many years now, since the loose tendons run through not just one goofy hand, but my whole body, as I have gotten less youthful they cause more difficulty than entertainment. My feet and arches are a big pain, and lately I have to wear either Birkenstocks or supportive insoles in my other shoes. Also not so great is sleeping. Since my tendons offer very little support to my body, once I fall asleep I tend to collapse in on myself in odd compositions and often wake up uncomfortable.

Brian, being over six feet tall and under 150 lbs, has sleep challenges of a different sort. Many beds don't do a good job with that particular arrangement of weight to distribute. He tends to sag in the middle and go through the night as if lying in a hammock.

Add my joints and his length to either my old beaten-down futon or his old beaten-down mattress and you get problems. The last few months the two of us have been trying and discarding all manner of sleeping arrangements to no avail, and becoming increasingly geriatric in the process - waking up and comparing aches and pains like a couple in their 80's.

So, finally we decided to do something beyond shuffling mattresses, futons and box-springs in and out of the bedroom and up and down the basement stairs. We did a lot of research in the form of lying around in various stores and talking to friends and relatives about what they sleep on. Finally, we made a big decision.

In all honesty, we would never have initially purchased a Sleep-Number bed, simply because Brian and I are both the ornery types who react to advertising by not wanting to buy what someone is trying to sell us. But we heard good reports from a number of very real people we know, and after much deliberation decided what he needs for his problem and what I need for mine are probably at different ends of the mattress spectrum. After visiting a Select Comfort store a few times and doing some more lying around, we made the purchase.

Yesterday two square boxes arrived. I spent half an hour or so so putting the mattress together, and last night Brian and I selected our numbers (he chose 85 and I chose 40) and drifted off. He slept like a rock. I didn't sleep as well, (the insomnia I suffered earlier in life is only currently kept at bay by a very particular arrangement of sleeping variables - so changes are not easy for me) but more importantly I got out of bed this morning without joint discomfort anywhere.

So, we are hopeful. And while in general I believe buying things won't solve your problems, sometimes I guess it will.