Front Porch: New bedspread fit for a queen

I’ve played tug-of-war more often as an adult than I ever did as a kid.

I’m referring to the tussling over blankets and bedspreads many couples engage in nightly during chilly winter months.

In our case, the tug-of-war was made tenser by the scant bed coverings on our queen-size bed.

Derek and I are not duvet or comforter people. We are cold sleepers, preferring a chilly room and a bed topped with good-quality sheets, a quilt and a blanket at the foot, in case the temps dip too low.

For many years, we’ve used a full-size quilt and a similarly sized blanket. These items barely skim the edges of our mattress, and when two full-size people are underneath them, well, someone’s backside will be out in the cold.

A few months ago, as Derek struggled for a bit of the quilt that I’d securely cocooned myself in, he said, “You know, we could just buy a queen-size bedspread and blanket.”

Shocked, I bolted upright.

“Oh my gosh! Why didn’t I think of that?”

He seized the advantage by grabbing more than his fair share of the blanket and rolling over.

“I dunno,” he said.

We’re both frugal by nature – a byproduct of raising four kids on one income for many years. We purchase what we need, save for what we want, and carefully consider bigger ticket items like furniture and cars.

Those habits have served us well. Our home and vehicles are paid for, and we’ve invested toward our retirements. The quilt and blanket we used were gifts that still had a lot of wear in them. It just didn’t occur to me to buy something that actually covered our bed.

In the morning, energized by the possibility of a tug-of-war cease-fire, I went out and purchased a beautiful mint green queen-size bedspread and a fluffy forest-hued blanket. Both fit perfectly, gracefully draping over the sides of the bed.

That night, there was no tussling (at least not over blankets), and we both slept well.

The phone rang the following morning as I pulled up the sheets and fluffed the pillows.

“Whatcha doin’?” my friend asked.

“Making the bed,” I replied and then rhapsodized over my new purchases.

She interrupted.

“Why are you making your bed? You’re just going to get back in it tonight.”

Surprised by her query, I sat at the edge of my taut hospital corner.

“It’s the first thing I do when I’m up for the day,” I said. “I never leave the house with an unmade bed.”

I came to bed-making a bit late in life. My mother taught me well, but when I lived at home, I was always in tearing hurry in the morning. (I’m not at my best before 10 a.m.)

My husband brought a king-size waterbed to our marriage. I was not up to the challenge of making a bed that large and unwieldy, so I’d just pull the bedspread up and leave it, lumps and all.

By the time our second son arrived, we’d swapped the water monstrosity for a queen-size brass bed. I spent the next 10 years in a state of sleep deprivation, constantly craving the comfort of my bed, yet always ripped from repose by a hungry infant, a sleepless toddler, or someone with an ear infection. Often all of those things at once.

The bed went unmade in those years.

When everyone was sleeping through the night (even me!) I returned to the workforce, and making our bed gained priority status. After a long day, there is something so soothing and inviting about entering your bedroom and seeing a neatly made bed. In fact, Admiral William H. McRaven memorialized the chore in a 2014 commencement speech at the University of Texas.

“If you want to change the world,” he said. “Start off by making your bed.”

The retired Navy SEAL elaborated: “If by chance you have a miserable day, you will come home to a bed that is made – that you made – and a made bed gives you encouragement that tomorrow will be better.”

That’s the feeling I enjoy each night when I draw back the covers and slide between the sheets.

McRaven didn’t mention the additional perks of having bedding that actually fits, but I feel confident he’d endorse the peaceful night’s sleep one gets when you leave tug-of-war to the playground.

Cindy Hval can be reached at dchval@juno.com. Hval is the author of “War Bonds: Love Stories from the Greatest Generation” (Casemate Publishers, 2015) available at Auntie’s Bookstore and bookstores nationwide.