It’s the final week for Andrew and crew to relax at the family cottage. Along the way I’ve told you that this place is amazing for peace of mind, and terrible for my posture. Today makes for a great case in point.
This morning my lovely bride awoke me at 6:30 in a bit of a panic. There was a dripping noise coming from the kitchen, and a big puddle spreading across the floor.
This puzzled me greatly, because the appliances in this joint are all at least 40 years old. Nothing, and I do mean NOTHING, is hooked up to the water, so a puddle spreading out around the fridge and dishwasher simply can’t be because of a busted pipe, leaky seal or cracked tap.
Well, it turns out that my mother had bought a lovely, ripe watermelon for the boys. Or, rather, she bought an overripe, starting to rot watermelon, which burst when the cat jumped off the top of the refrigerator, landing atop it.
That was the source of the dripping sound; slightly rotten, mushy watermelon guts, leaking onto the counter and dripping on the floor.
The process of cleaning up the mess woke up most of the rest of the cottage and, long story short; I got 4 hours of sleep last night.
Oh, well, it’s a beautiful day, it’s peaceful and quiet up here, I can take a nap later, right?
Ehhhhh, not so much.
We canoed. We swam. My little guy and I went fishing. We did cannon balls off the dock, and went swimming some more.
It was a very busy day, on very short sleep, and there was nothing in there conducive to good posture. Now I sit in an 80 year old wicker chair (seriously, these things were brought up here from my grandfather’s waiting room, in 1943), banging out this story on my notebook.
And my back is frickin’ killing me.
I love fishing. I love taking my boys out in the canoe. I love coming up here to relax. But nothing up here, and I do mean NOTHING, is spine and posture healthy.
Including the beds.
I know this is posture Monday, and normally I give you an exercise to help you improve your posture. Well, here’s today’s exercise:
Walk yourself down to the furniture store and buy yourself a first rate mattress.
We have such a mattress at home, and as much as I love this place, as much as I will miss coming here when it’s gone, the one thing I will not miss is the beds. The mattresses are second rate afterthoughts; saggy, lumpy and generally uncomfortable.
One of the greatest things you can do for your back and posture is to get a good mattress.
Don’t cheap out.
Don’t go for one that’s “good enough.”
Spend as much as you can afford on the highest quality mattress you can.
A poor mattress means poor sleep (which is a topic unto itself) and it means a bad back, and poor posture. So, get yourself a good one.
