I was making my bed this morning - which in and of itself is a very interesting process, one which I often doubt any other family subscribes to (4 comforters, all in their own places, one quilt, atop it all - but that is another blog) and I was thinking about my mattress and how gross it is when suddenly it dawned on me. My mattress is not gross, it is a piece of us - of our family. The stains on our 7 year old mattress, upon examination, take one on an archaeological journey.
First and foremost there is pee. A lot of it and most importantly, in very odd places. Not only are there pee-stains in the expected places (2-3 feet from the head of the bed) but also around the perimeter, in random spots. What this tells the exploring mind is that our children sleep on this bed en mass and that they squirm all over, jammed into the crevices and the cracks of free space. And that they pee in bed because we want them free of diapers and that we are not all that organized about making them pee before bed and that we often forget to put down the water proof pad.
Then there are the blood stains. These stains are dear to my heart and I have done nothing to clean or remove them. They are from two home births on this mattress and their locations spark beautiful memories. I remember sitting on the very edge of the bed, about to push and the water proof padding was slipping around, and I didn't care at all and the blood was soaking through the sheets. And I remember the other big blood stain right int he middle of the bed, when I hemorrhaged and the water proof pads were spilling over with blood and leaking onto the mattress
Giving birth to my kids - those experiences - were the most transformative and profound and joyous moments of my life. I love those stains and actually I don't want a new mattress - even if I wake up every morning with a tingling left hand and a stiff-ass neck.
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