Tomorrow, August 26, 2004 – a date that will live in infamy – the Kauffman household will be visited by men who will take away our extra king sized bed. As many of you may know, this is an event we have not come upon lightly. Opposing forces have repeatedly skirmished over the fate of that precious space: the baby’s room. Neutral arbiters have weighed in with their opinions, both in person and on the phone, and good sense, it seems, has won the day. But what room does good sense leave for sentiment, for history, for commitment? The bed, which was bought because an expectant mother sought comfort while her first child nurtured in her womb, is to be ushered out as the second child follows in the footsteps of the first.

I have been asked why we should keep this thing, a bed we no longer use and which takes up too much room. None of my reasons have been very good, or practical. What room is there for sentiment when matters are merely practical? Apparently there isn’t any in a baby’s room.

I am a fool. It is only a bed.