Average Jane: Average Jane Improves Her Life Immeasurably

My husband and I bought our house in 1995 and at the same time purchased a set of bedroom furniture and accompanying mattress. Up until about a week ago, we were still sleeping on that mattress.

It was absolutely shot: lumpy, unsupportive and visibly broken down. Even with a fancy memory foam pad on top and frequent turning, it was the architect of endless uncomfortable nights' sleep.

I got a small windfall a few weeks ago and even though it might have been slightly more responsible to use the money to pay down a bill or two, I told my husband that I thought we should take advantage of the opportunity to buy a new mattress.

We went to the store in our neighborhood where we'd bought the previous mattess because, really, who wants to shop around for a mattress? We self-consciously moved around the store lying on different mattresses suggested by the shopkeeper until we found one that suited us and was on sale. We paid cash for that very mattress (it was a floor model) and paid a little extra to have the old one hauled away.

The last four nights with the old mattress were awful. I think I spent them all lying flat on my back because lying on my side made me wake up limping from a sore hip. Finally, delivery day arrived.

My husband reported that when the delivery guys saw our old mattress they said, "Wow, that IS old!"

Apparently they don't make mattresses with blue floral covers anymore; the new ones were all white. We also learned during the shopping process that flipping your mattress is no longer a thing. Now all you have to do is turn it front to back from time to time. Who knew?

The first thing I realized when I got home and saw our wonderful new mattress installed on the bed frame was that we weren't going to be able to use the memory foam pad on top until I got some new sheets. Another thing that has changed about mattresses since the 1990s is that they're considerably thicker now.

Without the pad, the new mattress was a tad more firm than I found ideal, but it was still such an improvement over the old one that I could hardly stop marveling about it. On the rare occasions when my husband and I ended up sleeping at the same time, the old mattress used to crowd us together toward the middle because its structural integrity was so lacking. The new mattress, on the other hand, seems HUGE in comparison because it allows us to stay put on our own sides of the bed.

Today was the day I finally got the whole bed put back together. I'd shopped online until I found the best possible deal on extra-deep fitted sheet sets and the new ones arrived this afternoon. After a quick wash, I put the memory foam pad in place, made the bed with the new sheets, and somehow ended up lying down and reading for a couple of hours, just to test things out. It was delightful.

I haven't had a moment's regret about buying the mattress. We really owed it to ourselves and our health to get a mattress that didn't try to cripple us on a nightly basis.

Now I think I'm going to have to go lie down and read some more, just to make sure I've thoroughly tested it out.