Wife Snaps Photos of Husband's Attempts To Make the Bed for First Time in 45 Years
When you focus your attention on becoming an expert at something, there are plenty of other things that fall by the wayside. For former hardwood flooring store boss Jim Sterling, those neglected skills involved some pretty mundane chores.
Jim and Joanne Sterling live in Manson, Washington, and once Jim retired from his job, Joanne warned him he’d be expected to earn his keep on the homefront.
“Once he’d retired, I told him he had to start pulling his own weight and start helping out around the house,” she told the U.K. Daily Mail.
It started with the bed.
Few tasks bring as instant a sense of order to a chaotic room as making a bed, though there are a few particulars and variables that can throw the novice bed-maker — like how to arrange an impractical number of decorative pillows.
Jim may not count as a novice, but according to Joanne it’s been 45 years since he last tucked in any sheets or smoothed out any comforters, and she has posted photos to prove it.
“After 45 years Jim is in charge of making the bed every morning,” she shared on May 9. “I don’t think he knows what to do with the extra pillows.”
“When he did the first one, he didn’t say anything about it,” she said. “He just let me find it on my own.”
“I just don’t think he had any idea what to do with the extra pillows, so put them anywhere.”
“His designs are funny, but honestly, I’m just so happy he is making the bed every morning.”
The arrangements are creative and clever if not exactly standard. But that’s part of the fun; based on the photos Joanne has been posting, it seems Jim almost enjoys the process.
“He still doesn’t tell me about what he’s done, he just leaves it as a surprise for me when I walk into the bedroom,” she explained. “The bed stays this way until we go to bed, and I giggle every time I pass by it.”
At first Jim just arranged the multitude of pillows in entertaining and unorthodox ways. Eventually, he started adding props. For Joanne, though, it’s the first one that she’ll always remember.
“My favorite was the very first one because it made me laugh so hard. It keeps us both in a good mood.”
It was a shock to them both when they started getting a lot of notice online for their domestic antics.
“I couldn’t believe the interest his little creations have had,” Joanne said. “I guess other couples can just relate to a husband not knowing what he’s doing around the house.”
“Now he thinks he’s famous, I think it’s starting to egg him on. He has even started incorporating props like teddies and even an inflatable flamingo.”
There has been at least one day of “strike” in which the bed remained a mess because Jim refused to make it, but perhaps a little quiet, lighthearted humor like his is something we could all use right now.
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