How to make a bed
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! |  |
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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