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Do you know how to
make a bed? I was taught to make my bed by my grandmother. Every thing
had to be taken off, shaken, spread out and left to air for a while before
it was remade. To pull it straight was definitely not allowed, that was
slovenly! So, I made my bed that way, until I went Army Nursing.
The procedure there
was the same, except that there were so many layers. We had rubber sheets,
and then draw sheets over them, on top of the bottom sheet which had to
be really tucked in tight and absolutely smooth. Then came the top sheet
and a blanket.
They had to have envelope
corners, which meant that they had to be tucked and folded, smoothed
and stretched, without a single offending crease or bulge, like the greaseproof
paper round a pound of butter.
The quilt came next,
with the envelope corner at the end of the bed, but the surplus hanging
down at the side. Every bed in the ward to show exactly the same amount,
same length, so that all stood like soldiers at attention. Pillows were
then pummelled, and pushed and shaken into pillowcases, placed on the
bed with the openings away from the door!
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The result of all
this army training means that my beds are now made in exactly the same
way, much to the annoyance of my husband - who opens his bed at night
- gets in, lifts his feet and legs up about two feet into the air, and
pulls everything loose! That's his idea of bedmaking.
My grandchildren make
beds entirely differently. They have duvets - so they get out of bed,
pull the duvet straight, maybe shake the pillows, do not worry about pillowcase
openings, and that is that. So you see, I cannot just write "How to make
a bed".
How does a Japanese
person make his bed? Many people just roll themselves in a blanket or
climb into a sleeping bag. There are sailors who sleep in a hammock, how
do they make that? Some Polynesian people sleep on mats, and roll them
up and put them away each day. What else do they do to make their beds
comfortable? What do Eskimo people do?
Dogs turn round and
round, scratch at their blankets and then lie down. So, who is right?
How do you make a bed?
Copyright © Doreen Jones
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