Taking sides

I have a side.

I discovered a couple of days ago that there's a slight indentation in my mattress, though only on one side of the bed. After moving into my flat, I revelled in the fact that I had a double bed all to myself. I remember well the novelty of being able to choose to sleep on one side of it or the other, or sideways or diagonalways across it if I so felt, free to act on whatever whims took my fancy.

On discovering the dent I realised that that novelty must have faded at some point, as novelties are want to do, though I failed to notice it at the time, and I eventually chose a side of the bed to settle upon. Having consciously acknowledged this, I tried to sleep on the other side of the bed last night, and found it felt decidedly strange over there. After tossing and turning even more than usual (I'm a terrible fidget at the best of times) I eventually gave up and crawled back over to my side of the bed and quickly drifted off to sleep once more.

I know that in the grand scheme of things this is a discovery of significance to precisely no one save myself, but I get it now! All those numerous comedies over the years in which various thinly sketched characters complain about not being able to sleep on their side of the bed. It was a recurring joke that I never connected with until now.

I have a side. And for some reason it makes me happy.