Bunk Beds For The Soul

It was back in the 1970′s when me and my sisters were kids, we’d take a trip every once in a while to visit our grandparents, my mom’s parents. They lived about 300 miles from us, so whenever we went there, we always stayed overnight. It was only my mom, dad, my sister and myself back then. Besides the obvious attention and food that was constant throughout the visit, one of the best things about the trip was being able to sleep in bunk beds that my grandparents had in a spare room.

We loved those beds; me and my sister would always take turns sleeping on the top. As soon as we found out we were going we made sure we knew who’s turn it was for the top bunk. We just couldn’t wait. One of my favorite things was climbing that ladder up and down to the top bed. We would also take all the blankets in the room and make a fort out of the bottom bunk.

I remember finding the bunk beds unusual because they seemed so sturdy and heavy to me, and they were painted white. The white made the beds stand out in the room which was darker, and which is why I really only remember the beds and not the room itself.

As we got older, my sister became more interested in teenage stuff, and didn’t go with us as often anymore. I was lonely being there by myself, having the top bunk all to myself. It just wasn’t the same without her. Even without her I would still use the blankets on the bottom bunk, but this would get boring real quick by myself.

As I was lying in my own metal bunk bed in college one night, I got a call from my parents that my grandfather had passed away. This moment was a sad one for me as I’m sure it was for my sister. I’m going to miss those times together.