Mattresses and Mankind

One of my mom's closest friends is moving to a town four hours away from us on Saturday. We'll call this amazing friend Mrs. Sally. Mrs. Sally's oldest son recently got a job on the other side of the country, and moved out leaving behind all his big stuff so that he could start over. As Mrs. Sally's second son is going to college, she and her husband have been doing a lot of cleaning to get ready for their move. Because she and my mom are very, very close friends, we, my mother's children, were rewarded with the bulk of forgotten childhood stuffed monkeys, an alien, a race track, about 200 hot wheels, a couple of games for the Wii, a box spring, and, among other things, the eldest son's mattress. Forget everything else. Remember the mattress.

My mom gave me the mattress.

All our mattresses right now are old. We got them from our cousins a few years ago when they were in their teens, and they'd had them for ages. I mean they're old. Because they're ancient, they're smashed and flimsy and uncomfortable--basically, we all agree they're crap. But it's what we've got, so they're good enough.

And me, outrageously lucky me, got the good mattress. I don't know much about mattresses, but I know Mrs. Sally, and Mrs. Sally's house looks good. Her husband is well taken care of, she is well taken care of, her sons are well taken care of. She's smart. This is a good mattress. And she just gave it to us! And me, outrageously lucky me, got it.

I know. This sounds insane. I'm making an entire post about a mattress. A mattress! But, really, bear with me. She just gave it to us--to me. Most people would have sold such a good mattress at a yard sale or something; made a little money off of it. Not Mrs. Sally.

Living in a family where money is tight and the youngest of us is a four year old, I've learned not to ask for a lot. My siblings ask for enough. I'm not tooting my own horn or anything, that's just how I am. I feel guilty when I take unless we're all getting something or they get something first. I would have expected this mattress to go to my fourteen year old brother, who immediately would have shouted "I GOT DIBS!" at the sight of it. Or perhaps the four year old. But no. I asked my mom before she left, "Who gets the mattress?" She answered, "Probably you."

I was excited. A mattress. A nice mattress. New to me after having had the same old mattress for as long as I can remember. Wow. I'm still excited. Mrs. Sally is a very kind and generous woman. She defeats the whole "We're moving. Let's have a yard sale." idea and gives instead. With so much of the world taking, or giving and expecting something in return, she's refreshing. She's a reminder that there are good people out there, with her definitely being one of them. She's a reminder that in a world full of hate, selfishness, and negativity there is love, selflessness, and positiveness. With the coming of good things, there comes hope. Hope that one day, there will be more people like her. I hope to be one of them someday.

And it all starts with a mattress.