Last June, we took a quick trip up to Victoria to celebrate Jeff’s MBA graduation.

We had a superb time. It was one of those last-minute trips, hardly planned, in which everything was surprising excellent. It was my first drive through the coastal Olmypic Range, which is stunning. We had two outstanding meals (in Port Angeles at Joy’s Wine Bistro, in Victoria at Camille’s).

Everything about the experience seemed to be extra special. We had sun and a gentle breeze for our visit to the famous Butchart Gardens, and worked up an appetite for devouring their high tea.

I couldn’t remember the last time I’d stayed at a Marriott, but this one really impressed me. We got upgraded to a business suite (conference call, anyone?) and had a city view.

But the standout of that vacation was…the delight of an oh-so-comfortable bed in the room. So cozy! So comfortable! With exceptionally fine bed linens that you never find at hotels, no matter now luxurious the brand.

After that night of perfect sleep, we knew then it was beyond time to bite the bullet and buy a new bed at home.

It took over a year, but we’ve finally graduated from the old Ikea bed, in which we were beginning to sleep strategically to avoid the dips. We broke down and bought a Sleep Number bed. We were not happy about how long our bed took to arrive, and the delivery process is not customer-oriented at all or what you would expect after dropping such a huge sum for a bed, but now that it’s here and we’ve all adjusted we are waking up rested. Jeff’s back was happy again after 1 night; it took me a couple weeks (and a new pillow purchase) to get comfortable.

So, what are our numbers? I am 50 and Jeff is close to me at 55 (yes, we are supposed to have different numbers…that’s the whole point!). But the beauty of the system is you can change your setting, and I suspect mine will get lower (softer) as I adjust more.

Dashiell likes it too! He has not slept in our bed since he was about 5 months old, but lately, he’s been waking up in his crib before 5:00 am, and he’s too tired to make it to his morning nap, and then he’s overtired and consequently doesn’t take a good morning nap. We had been casually letting him play in the bed with us after we got him up and changed. I noticed that if I wasn’t around he would rest in the bed instead of wanting to climb the headboard and play with the reading lamps. So for the last two mornings, while I write these blogs, D and Dad doze for another hour plus!