Simple question. Why do we have so many pillows? This question is important and here’s why.
I am often the “bed maker” in my home. Many mornings, I wake up and the first thing I do is make the bed, while my wife makes her trek to the coffee maker. Other mornings I assist her and we both make the bed. It’s not that she isn’t fully capable of making the bed. It’s not that she isn’t willing. It’s just something I do. I haven’t always done this, but several years ago, it became part of my routine.
It may go back to an audiobook I listened to several years ago entitled “Make Your Bed” written by U. S. Navy Retired and former SEAL, William H. McRaven. (I would wholeheartedly recommend this book if you’re asking.) It may be due to the fact that I can be obsessive about certain things. I can’t say for sure, and the reasons I make the bed are not really my purpose for this post. It’s those pillows.
Every time I make the bed or turn down the bed, I ask myself a very simple question. It’s the question I started with, and I’ll repeat it. Why do we have so many pillows? Why do we have more fluffy pillows than we can sleep on? And why do we have things in our home that create extra work every morning and every evening? Why are we stacking and unstacking every day?
Let me explain. Every evening, when I turn down the bed (which I don’t always do, but I do occasionally), I remove a total of seven pillows. You read that right. Seven pillows. And that doesn’t even include the two that my wife and I sleep on. That actually makes a total of nine pillows, because I have to move those as well to make the bed. First come the two small pillows (or cushions, if you prefer) that conceal the gap between the two large pillows behind them. The two large pillows behind the cushions are enclosed in shams which are decorative and which match our comforter.
Are you impressed that I know these are pillow shams and not pillowcases? There is a difference. That raises the question of why we now have comforters and not bedspreads. I researched that, and there is a difference. I’ll leave that for you to do your own research.
Back to the pillows. Behind these two pillows in the comforter matching shams are two additional large pillows enclosed in solid pillowcases. Not shams, but pillowcases. These also come off the bed. They are not for sleeping. Like the first four, they are for ornamental purposes only. Truth be told, you could sleep on these, but you might wake up with a stiff neck due to the 45-degree angle required to rest your head on them. Finally, I reach the sleeping pillows. Those two comfortable headrests that allow us to rest peacefully at night. Oh, wait. There is also that “extra” pillow that has a different type of cover that my wife sometimes uses. Not always, mind you, but sometimes.
Again, if you’re keeping count, that’s nine pillows. Seven pillows that have to be removed before I can remove the two sleeping pillows, so that I can turn down the comforter, then the blanket and sheet, to simply get into bed. But wait, those last two have to be placed back on the bed. Then and only then can I settle in for the evening.
And after what I hope is an evening of restful sleep, I rise the next morning, and reverse the order (unless I’m changing the sheets, and that’s a whole different ordeal. Then EVERYTHING comes off and back on. Yes, on a normal morning, I lay aside the sleeping pillows, place the sheet and blanket back in place, unfold the comforter, putting it in place and smoothing it carefully. Then, back go the sleeping pillows, followed by that “extra” pillow. Then it’s the two large pillows in solid cases, which precedes the large pillows in matching shams. And finally, the two small pillows (cushions) to conceal any potential gap between the last two pillows.
So, is it any surprise that I go to bed tired, and am exhausted only a few minutes after waking up? Let me add that we don’t have a nice storage chest for pillows and cushions at the foot of our bed. Our unused pillows simply go on the floor (which is hardwood and clean) and stay there for the evening. I’m kind of happy about that. Having to open and close that pillow box every evening and morning would simply add extra steps, which I don’t need.
And just so you know, my question isn’t entirely rhetorical, I have asked my wife this question, and she has an answer. That conversation, which has occurred more than once, goes something like this.
Me: “Why do we have so many pillows?”
Her: “Because pillows add levels of texture and they make things cozy.”
Me (silently and only in my mind): “Of course. How did I miss something so obvious.” This is followed by a huge eye roll.
But I’m much too smart after 50 years of marriage to pursue this line of questioning. That answer is sufficient, not because I agree, but because it is the only answer I am going to get. And any further questions might result in me being invited to sleep on the couch. Oh, and guess how many cushions we have on that couch.
That’s a story for another day. Right now, I have to make the bed.