Settling my Mom into Brooklyn
There have been a lot of eventful things happening in my life recently, but one of the things that has made me most happy is that my momma moved to Brooklyn! Now she lives walking distance to both of her daughters and her granddaughter, and is starting a fresh chapter of her life.
My mom is the type of person to never ask for anything, and she always insists that she doesn't need anything. This makes her not only the hardest people to ever buy gifts for, but also can make her daughters go a little nuts because we want to make sure she has everything she needs. Classic example, she tells us how she wasn't planning on getting a bed when she moved into her new apartment and that she was going to sleep on those floorpads like the old school Koreans did it back in the day. This made me a little bonkers and I insisted on finding her a proper bed and a good mattress-- especially given that she already isn't a great sleeper.
You guys all know how insistent I am on proper sleep and my nightly rituals. I first became a spoiled little child with my favorite silk pillowcase and linen sheets, and then I fell in love with these Pangea Bed copper-infused pillows a few months ago for their support, breathability, and anti-bacterial / anti-microbial properties (hormonal acne will make a girl get OCD about anything dirty touching her face!). So when I started looking into mattresses for my mom, the first place I looked was Pangea Bed, as I knew they had a copper-infused mattress as well-- after looking at all of the reasons why their mattress was so special, I knew I had to get this one for her.
Pangea Bed's mattresses are made from 100% pure Talalay latex. Nope, I had no idea what that was either at first, but I was really happy to discover that it's a natural rubber that is sustainably extracted from rubber trees and is the "gold standard" of all foams and latexes. It's 4x more breathable than memory foam or synthetic latex mattresses, so no more sweaty sheets-- which is good because my mom's apartment is old school and the heater just goes and goes. It's also made in the USA and put through an environmentally-friendly 5 stage washing process that extracts all those residual materials and proteins in the product, so that it is hypoallergenic and dust mite resistant.
When we received the mattress, it was the easiest assembly of my life. I slid the rolled up mattress out of the box, and it came with a safety scissor to cut through the plastic binding the mattress together, so you wouldn't damage the mattress or cut yourself. These little thoughtful details companies do for their consumers make me love a brand even more, especially now as a new business owner I really appreciate it. Then once I cut through the plastic, the mattress started expanding right before my eyes! It takes about 20 minutes for all the layers to full solidify, but it was really shocking how it took less than 5 minutes of labor to assemble.
I got her this low-profile bedframe (shockingly good quality for price AND easy to assemble), since she wanted to be as low to the ground as possible-- and this was the only bedframe I could find that low to the ground. It turned out to be the perfect platform for this mattress. Both my mom and I were so happy when we laid down on the fully assembled bed for the first time. The mattress was firm enough for support but with a plush top that feels like you're dreamily just melting into the bed. Is it possible to feel hugged by a mattress?
To finish off the room with a little extra cozy touch, I gave her my favorite diffuser so she could start diffusing some essential oils to help support her sleep and health. It honestly makes me so happy and gives me such peace of mind to know that she is in a comfortable, healthy sleeping space every night thanks to Pangea.
I've been asking her how she is liking the mattress and she now admits she's so happy I'm a stubborn daughter and insisted on her trying out this mattress, because it's her favorite mattress she's ever had-- and mind you, my sister and I bought her her last one that was one of those old school "brand label" "luxe" mattresses (that I now later find out are full of toxic materials...), and so the fact that she loves this one more makes me thrilled.
Having my mom here in the neighborhood is so nice, because I get to see her all the more frequently now. Even if it's just for a quick hug and a 5 minute chat while I'm running work errands, she'll still manage to shove food in my hand and seeing her makes my day better. Returning a tiny favor for her after all she's done for me, by helping her set up her new apartment in Brooklyn? All I can ask for.