I would rather spend a night in the dirtiest hotel in El Salvador than buy a freakin’ mattress. I really loathe these sorts of domestic things. They just seem pointless. Why buy a mattress? Like most home furnishings, they are just large and expensive barriers that hinder me from picking up and leaving the country whenever my heart desires.

But this means something. I’m gingerly inserting small roots into the damp soil of the Pacific Northwest. For a woman who has based a large portion of her identity on traveling, it’s rather uncomfortable. (I mean, I have a whole blog about it.)

And then a few weeks ago I read this amazing-heart-stoppingly-honest blog post about the courage to stay in one place.

I paused, reflected and then committed. And this is how I find myself on a rainy Saturday looking at mattresses in Big Lots.

I have mixed feelings about it. I still fight back the tears watching Anthony Bourdain’s Parts Unknown thinking how far away I am from visiting those exciting, distant lands. On the other hand, one of the things that drove me crazy in Argentina was that I had no plan. I couldn’t make a plan because I had no idea how long I was going to be in that empanada-loving country (Swoon, I totally miss empanadas…I digress). Ultimately this was one of the reasons that caused me to leave because turns out it is actually kind of hard to move forward if you don’t have a plan.

But this is the alternative?! Buying a freakin’ mattress in the suburbs of Seattle on a rainy Saturday? Shoot me. Now.

Still, this is happening. I signed a 2-year phone contract. I let my mom drag me to consignment stores in Ballard where she calmly counselled me on buying adult-like furniture. (Check out Ballard Consignment and Classic Consignment)

But you want to know the best part about settling in and getting a mattress? I can now invite and host all my dear travelling friends when I convince them to come to Seattle 🙂