Her name's Sabine and she's going to have the prettiest bed.

It wasn't long after The Tall One to Whom I am Now Married and I retrieved my first-ever piece of furniture purchased with my very own money (a dresser) from an antique store in Gruene, ate the funnel cake, danced to Michael Martin Murphey, and The Tall One bought me a hat heavy enough to make my neck hurt, that I began the search for a bed to match this beautiful new-to-me dresser.

Used to be that Whit Hanks offered consignment pieces alongside their wildly expensive estate and design pieces. Now, they're all about wildly expensive design pieces in designs I don't much understand. But, back in the days of the colored dot system, I watched a certain head board/foot board/side rails go from green to yellow to purple ... SOLD! I think I paid around $250 for this wonderful bed that would prove, because of its odd dimensions, to need a custom-made mattress and box springs.

So, with the help of The Tall One to Whom I was Dating, we ordered and HE assembled my new bed in my little furnished duplex and we hauled the landlords's existing frame and mattress ... somewhere. We've talked and we can't remember where we put it. And I got my deposit back and everything. Hmmhm.

So, that bed's been moved a lot. From my post-college duplex to our married house in Abilene to married apts. in Austin to our house. And into each home we moved, we set up our "antique" room ... w/ my dresser and my bed. With wedding pictures of our parents and grandparents on the walls. On our honeymoon, we added a marble-topped nightstand. (I'm KEEPING the nightstand.)

The cruel thing is, we made our guests SLEEP in that bed. It's rather tiny. Not quite a FULL size, yet more than a twin. So, cramming two full-sized guests into it was kind of a mean trick.

Yet, along came our Ones Big and Short and they fit perfectly. It was a first "big bed" for both. Equipped w/ protective side rails it watched over those first nights from crib to bed. And Big and Short covered up w/ any number of quilts made by our great-grandmothers and grandmothers, afghans from Aunt Georgie, and a quilt given to us by my parents for our wedding JUST FOR THAT BED.

There's The Short One a few haircuts and shoe sizes ago on his first night OUT of his crib and IN my bed. Yes. He's kinda biggish. But he loved his crib and who am I to argue?

So, along came our hardwood floors recently, and with them a reorganization of our whole house. OUT with the tassels. OUT with the fake plants. And, after much consternation regarding the practicality of antique furniture that holds neither items nor persons adequately, OUT with the antique furniture.

I'm happy the antique dresser, from our first date and our first funnel cake, is going to The Tall One's first born for HIS first born ... SOON! He just needs to come pick it up. The drawers are already meticulously lined w/ blue and white checked drawer liner and READY for baby clothes. It held my boys' baby clothes, too. And they each knew JUST the drawer that held their special blankets ... their "B's" ... and I can still hear the rattle of the pull when they opened that drawer.

The bed was not practical to hand over to any member of our extended family --certainly not my BROTHER whom I've made sleep in that bed many times and who likely didn't regain feeling in his limbs for many days after from hanging various parts off of it to FIT -- so I did what I've only talked about doing for so long ... posting it on Craigslist.

Now, about this Craigslist thing. I've heard talk of people selling things in MINUTES ...even SECONDS on that list. It's rather addictive and I shop it all the time. However, on the occasions we've listed things, response has been ... slow. The Tall One's mountain bike sold in a few weeks, mostly because he is a wheeler dealer, that one, and accepted about 33 cents for it. My hybrid bike, which I now regret selling, went for far less than its worth so we could make room in the garage for new and improved and less practical bikes.

But, our SUV, never even got a hit. And I think The Tall One posted it wrong. Or something ate up the posting because it SURELY wasn't because no one wanted it!

Adding to the posting and selling drama, is the fact that I always feel a bit victimized when I'm the buyer OR the seller, for that matter. I always feel like someone else is in charge. "Our house? HERE ... take it. It's yours. It's been on the market awhile and you seem like nice people. Just TAKE IT. And get that sign outta my yard!"

I posted my bed this afternoon around 1. At 1:05 I had my first and only email response. We exchanged emails throughout the day regarding dimensions and a time to view. She seemed nice because she used smiley faces in her messages.

They came tonight. They loved my bed. It's for Sabine. Sabine's new room. She's four. She sometimes shares her bed with her little brother. She wanted to take it RIGHT NOW and put it in their Accord.

The Tall One will deliver it on Tuesday morning. And if they can figure out the antique bolts, Sabine will sleep in it that night.

The very sweetest of dreams to you, Sabine.