Changing of the Sheets

Tuesday is - well, when I can remember - Sheets and Towels Day. It's in order to gear up the washer and dryer for Laundry Marathon Wednesday. I dislike sheet changing - I find it quite physically exhausting. ("Just....stre-e-e-e-tch....a little.....more.... ok....got it!" And then....boing!) And don't get me started on duvet covers. I actually wait for Donny to come home to put the covers back on the quilts because I had a bad experience once in which I literally had to crawl inside the cover to get the corners of the blanket to match up and Donny walked in and there I was, inside a blanket. It was stuffy. So after that, blanket covers became Donny's domain. He manages to do it whilst remaining on the outside. Brilliant. It's why I married him.

Of all the sheets to change, Ariella's and Yaakov's are the worst. This is because their beds are veritable archaeological digs of Stuff. Ariella has a total of three pillows and four blankets, each serving a different, but necessary purpose. Then there are the various stuffed animals and a treasure trove of pajamas. She never puts her jammies away, or in the hamper, they just get thrown on the bed, later to become rolled up in one of the four blankets, and only discovered on Sheets and Towels Day. So removing all of the crap - I mean, beloved sleep paraphanalia - is itself an ordeal.

Then, we get to Yaakov's bed. Often, when he "can't sleep" at night, he will bring toys into his bed. The problem is, when he brings in new toys and books, he does not, God forbid, put away the old ones. The new are just added to the old. I think the bottom layer of Stuff might actually contain a rattle and a pacifier. Today, in the bed, there was: Superman blanket, Superman pillow, regular blanket, two regular pillows, a cowboy hat (pink, leftover from Ariella's 5th birthday), a pop-up Chronicles of Narnia picture book, a package of tissues, a plastic baseball bat, a toy cell phone, Buzzy, Woody (post Toy Story I, so at least they're friends), two doggies, a monkey, and of course, Blue Blanket. Luckily the books, broken crayons, and MagnaDoodle that I put away last week have not yet resurfaced.

And all of that must be carefully removed while I put on the sheet, and then just as carefully replaced on the bed. Of course, it won't help if he "can't sleep" tonight. He'll just come padding out to find some new toys.