We recently got new sheets for our bed. It was time, since our old ones were becoming thinner and thinner with each washing. So, with crisp, clean sheets freshly washed and the bed made just right, both Kim and I were ready for a good night’s sleep. We settled in, enjoying the feel of the new sheets, and prepared ourselves for a long springtime nap. But then I started moving. Not tossing and turning or anything, just adjusting and trying to find that perfect spot to take me away to dreamland.
Now, if you work outdoors or have a job where you stand or walk a lot, then you know how rough it can be on your poor feet. From years of landscaping, digging, and running from one end of Kerby’s to the other, I have pretty calloused feet. Which is great if you need to do a hot coal walk, but not great with these new sheets. Every time I moved my feet, it sounded like little nails on a chalkboard. Crinkle-crinkle-scratch-scratch-crinkle-crinkle.
In desperation, I ran to the bathroom and grabbed one of Kim’s pumice stones and tried to rub down whatever little bits were catching on the sheets, but to no avail. Now, Kim is threatening to make me go for a pedicure, because every time I adjust my legs or roll over in bed, I wake her up with a loud crinkle scratching sound. And we were so excited about the new sheets. We’ve temporarily solved the problem by wearing socks, but just never had any idea that new sheets and my feet wouldn’t get along.
And that’s one advantage to playing with houseplants inside over gardening outside. It is much easier on your feet! The great thing is that you still get to be around plants. I saw a quote from Jenny Uglow this week that I believe captures why so many of us love gardening and plants: ‘We may think we are nurturing our garden, but of course it is our garden that is really nurturing us.’ In all of its forms, nature, plants, and gardening nurtures us. I’ll take it, even if it does leave me with loud feet.