Thursday, September 25, 2008

Two Master Bedrooms


A funny title, yes, but I have decided that in my dream house, there are two master bedrooms. Funny enough ,I mustn't be the only one, because I guess builders ARE building new houses that have two master suites!

And yes, you can probably guess that this stems from Mike's infernal snoring and teeth grinding.

But in reading an article about it, I found some funny truths hidden in there, decadent dream or not. The article brought up the point that we teach our children to be able to sleep alone, in fact, is this not the golden dream from day one? To have them completely independent, in their own bed, in their own room, settled quietly and dreaming of sugarplums.

THEN when they choose to co-habitate with someone, in whichever form they choose, society instantly expects them to sleep in the same room as said tooth-grinding-snoring-like-chainsaw person? (hey, this can apply to both sexes, my old roomate could grind her teeth like a trash compactor)

And its FROWNED upon if you have separate bedrooms. I can't tell you how many times I have read that its damaging to a relationship, that you lose the closeness of being a couple, and that in order to reach couple nirvana, yes, you must sleep in the same room.

So, all our lives before we live with our partner, we are expected to sleep alone. Twenty, twenty five or more YEARS of sleeping in quiet bliss in your own space, to then be thrust into sleeping beside someone who's sleep habits make you want to commit spousicide. <--yes that's a word, at least in the urban dictionary ;)

So of course my wandering mind meandered to the thoughts of our childrens' schooling, which is of course, ever present on my mind lately. And how in most schools, children are taught in an environment that you can hear a pin drop in. Taught to concentrate in absolute silence, with punitive measures for those who break this golden hush surrounding learning. That THIS is the only way that children can learn, that they can't concentrate and absorb what they are being taught unless there is silence from all.

So who here has a quiet work environment? Anyone? I can truthfully say that I can't remember the last time that I worked in a place as quiet as a classroom. There is always a constant din of office noise surrounding us.

So there's another example, 12-13 years of learning only to be thrust into the workplace where sometimes, you can't hear yourself think. I don't count university in those years because that is an active choice on the part of whomever is partaking in those courses, not forced to "get your diploma" because you can't get a job without one.

I have lots of weird, random thoughts lately with Mr K starting his school, and myself trying to learn and adjust and think (oh the lessons we parents are taught daily) and this post would fall into that category. I LOVE that he is learning to concentrate with a burble of noise around him, that this is really preparing him for what life is, learning how to take on your projects and work on them even while putting up with that annoying person who keeps popping over your cubicle with the latest Dilbert cartoon, or simply finishing your coloring page with the classmate beside you who feels like singing his ABC's loudly today, bless his little off-key heart.

I probably don't have to add that I can't sleep beside Mike because I wouldn't function in the morning, but I WILL add, that every single google picture I found was the MAN snoring, with a frustrated woman beside him!

I guess not only are we obviously doomed to never find couple nirvana, our son is obviously being slighted in his education by not being ensconced in silence for his learning.

OH, and we are going to hell because we co-sleep with our children too, they will never function in normal society now because they never learned to sleep alone. Let me tell you, thanks to Mike's snoring, our children will be able to sleep through a hurricane. Now tell me THAT'S not a life skill!

2 comments:

miss b said...

I ♥ sleeping with my kids (when i don't have an elbow stuck in my back). lol. i shared a room pretty much my whole life so i always had someone with me. i had a brief stint when i was 18 when i had my own bedroom, but then i moved out at 19 cuz i was having a baby and i gladly had someone to share with again.

Unknown said...

I sleep better alone and wouldn't mind my own bed, or maybe we just need a king size mattress.

I don't remember my school classrooms being very quiet though, as a teenager I'd wear my walkman in class when I could to drown out all the other chatter.