Sometimes I give up too easily.  I have friends who always believe things will work out and their attitude, I’m sure, is part of why something usually does. They’ve gone into situations where the odds are so stacked against them I wouldn’t even venture and they often come out triumphant...or at least they know they went down swinging, which counts for a lot. 

One of the biggest changes that has happened to me since I started this blog is that I think, “Well, why not try...” a lot more than I used to. 

I had a lesson in this the other day. 

I’ve needed a new bed, or at least a new mattress, since I’m embarrassed to admit that my current mattress and boxsprings are old enough to vote, if not drink legally. I got them for free from a relative and have never bought a new one. A few weeks ago a spring popped so that every time I turned over or my cat jumped on the bed, I’d hear a loud “sprooooiiiinnnngggg!!!,” like something out of a cartoon. I was waiting for the whole thing to collapse on the floor.

I wanted to possibly get a bigger bed so I didn’t want to spend the money on a new mattress for the old size, but I didn’t have the money to buy a new mattress/ springs/ bed frame, etc.

Lo and behold, a few weeks after contemplating my new purchase, a friend posted on Facebook that she and her husband were giving away their bed to anyone who would come get it. It was a gorgeous wood frame in the size I wanted. I emailed her and told her I was in before I really thought it through given that I would need a truck to go get it and some able-bodied strong men and women to help out. And no one likes to ask people for those kinds of favors.

Then I started looking for mattresses and figured even with the frame being free, it was still too expensive.

My friend  told me that someone else was ready to take the bed and I almost, without even trying to find a way to make it work, said to go ahead and let them have it, because, god forbid, I actually put in a little effort. 

After I mentioned my mattress dilemma, she said I could have their mattress too; it was still in great shape, they were just buying a bigger size bed. What they paid for their mattress was far more than I ever could afford, yet she was willing to throw it in for free.

Here’s how long it took me to find a solution: one email, one phone conversation, and one text. That’s it. I was so willing to give up without even trying, even though I really needed a new bed. The first friends I emailed didn’t know anyone with a truck, but the second person I talked to said she bet some of her friends would do it if I rented the truck, but before we even got far down that road, my neighbor texted that he knew of a handyman with his own truck. He could do it two days later and we were in. Plus, he asked for a ridiculously low price to go pick it up, take it apart, bring it to my house, take apart my old bed, reassemble the old bed in my guest bedroom, and put the new bed together. I paid him twice what he’d asked for and I still got a bargain. And the new bed, which is years away from being old enough to vote, is so incredibly comfortable I can’t believe it. Plus, I got to pick out new bedding, sheets, mattress pads, all that kind of fun, girly stuff. (I even got the bedspread on clearance).  I now have a guest room that guests can actually use instead of sleeping on my living room sofa. 

And I was so willing to not even try. I’m so glad I did and I hope I remember this result next time I’m thinking about making no effort because it might take a little time. 

I asked my friend her favorite charity since she would not take any money from me at all. She and her husband love animals and have rescued pets before so today’s $10 (and a little more) goes to The Amanda Foundation,  a really great Los Angeles-based that, like the Lange Foundation (where I used to volunteer), rescues animals from kill shelters and gives them a loving place to live until they find their forever home. They have a Rehome Gallery on their site that matches animals who are in homes right now but need new ones with new owners, as well as a Success Gallery, which has pictures of pets and their new human parents. There’s lot of love going on at the Amanda Foundation. 

June 4: The Amanda Foundation

Why I started this blog

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