To the mattresses!

"Do you want to sleep on the floor or in the bed tonight?" Aaron asked me at dinner time. I chose the floor.

Dear readers, I wish I was joking.

I've slept better sleeping on a pallet on the floor the past few nights than I have on our new mattress set for the past six months. Here is the sad, sad story:

The old double bed Aaron had when we got married was actually very comfortable, but it's not a standard double bed. It's smaller, oddly – too small for both of us to sleep well – but on nights when I can't sleep and I go to the second bedroom, it sleeps like a dream.

Newly married and eager to make our first (and to date, only) large purchase, we went to the furniture store and tested out mattresses, which was quite uncomfortable thanks to my husband, who enjoys embarassing me and making things awkward for the old, old, super old couple in the show room, and also because lying on beds for 15-minute intervals is just weird anyway. With wedding money from G-bud, we purchased a mattress we both felt would... um... do a good job, and had to wait two weeks before Ashley Furniture could deliver our Sealy Awful-pedic mattress and box spring (strike one).

This is what we got. *

I'm disappointed that this mattress set, which we considered an investment, has turned out to be a joke. We wake up achey and not well-rested (strike two). I slept like an infant on the four-inch-thick recycled mattresses in my college dorms, but now, with my VERY EXPENSIVE BRAND NEW FANCY PANTS mattress, I'm tossing and turning all night, having difficulty both resting and waking up (strike three). Cruel.

We're now debating whether to list the mattress and box spring on Craigslist {but isn't it too weird to buy – much less sell – a mattress through Craigslist!?! I'm sorry but I wouldn't do it} or do something else, like move the new bed to the guest room, get rid of the mattress currently in the second bedroom, and buy something like an Aerobed. I was talking to my mom about this, and she thinks we're ridiculous. But what else can we do? I thought about calling the hotel we stayed at in Orlando this spring and asking what type of mattresses they use, because I slept SO well. I am afraid to hear the answer, though. What to do, what to do? What would YOU do? I don't want to sleep on an uncomfortable bed for the next ten years, but I don't know if we have any other options.

The end.

The evidence. Our empty bed and the cloud pallet at 6:30 a.m. Note sleeping husband in left-hand side of picture. On the ground. Not on the bed. Because the bed is awful. Also, note the vintage Gpa Bud bed frame... anybody know if I can paint it?

The pallet. That's my husband curled up on the right side of the mass of sheets, comforters from two beds, quilts and pillows. If you look closely you can see his sleepy head.

*obviously, what you sleep on is very subjective. I'm telling you what hasn't worked for Aaron and me. If you love your Ravenswood Sealy Posturepedic mattress, I am happy for you (and a little jealous.)