Bedfellows

I gave away Jason's bed today.

A few weeks ago I heard about a really neat site from a friend of Dale's. It's a Yahoo group called tallyfreecycle. It's free to join but you have to live in Tally... I am sure there are sites like this in other cities... Anyway people either offer things they don't want anymore or people ask for items they want.

So I joined and, for the heck of it, posted a WANT ad asking for a double bed for my teenage son who had outgrown his single bed. I figured it was probably unreasonable to ask for such a big-ticket item but I had nothing to lose. The next morning I had an email from a woman who had a bed for me.

I couldn't believe it. I got what I asked for!!

Dale and I went to pick it up last Sunday morning. It's a beautiful Windsor-style bed with head/foot boards and a brand new mattress.

So then I had his bed to deal with. First I asked Jason if it wanted to take his bed to his Dad's apartment to use. He said no. So I decided I would give it to someone on the freecycle site.

Before I could post an ad, I saw a WANT ad from a single mom who needed two twin beds. I emailed her and told her I had one I could give and she gladly accepted. She arranged to come over tonight to pick it up. Around 7:30 she called and told me her mother was coming in her van and confirmed the directions.

When her mother arrived, she pulled into the driveway but didn't get out. I walked down and introduced myself. She told me that she was deathly afraid of cats. Jess and I put all the cats in a room and proceeded to help her carry out the bed frame and mattresses.

Now I have to tell you, the van this woman was driving was filled up with stuff... 3 child seats and at least a 48-bulk pack of toilet paper... I swear to you.... and I couldn't help thinking, "What was this woman thinking by sending her mother to pick up a bed in a van loaded with crap??"

She loaded the head/foot boards in the front passenger seat.

She loaded the rails in the middle section.

Then, after some experimentation, we loaded the box spring through the back so that it rested on the head rests of the middle seat.

The main problem was the mattress. There was no way it was gonna fit inside the van. NO WAY.

Then the woman said she was going to fold the mattress.

OMG, I thought to myself. First of all, everyone knows you can't just fold a mattress. And second of all, even if it could be folded it would surely break. But the woman, who was a seasoned mover, had it under control. So we loaded the folded mattress into the van and off she went with many thanks.