I never thought I’d see the day where I would buy used bed sheets. Yes, you read that right — used, as in second-hand. I’m trying to rationalize this act right now. I mean, any time I sleep in a hotel room, I’m sleeping on used sheets, right?

I know what you’re thinking. That in this day and age of Zellers, Winners and Walmart, there is really no reason for resorting to buying used sheets. A fancy designer stroller, sure. But sheets, no.

But it’s not that. It’s not the cost of these sheets that required them to be bought used. In fact, I paid a good price for them and now I have to actually pay to have them shipped here too. Oh, and customs fees too. That’s right. I bought used sheets from another country, no less.

Okay, let me back up. I got myself in this used-sheets predicament about a year ago. At that time, we had moved to Australia for a one-year exchange. The house that we were living in was absolutely beautiful. And in the room where my daughter was to stay, there was a hand-painted mural of fairies dancing in a forest under moonlight. The shelves above the bed were lined with teddy bears and baby dolls. There was also a handmade wooden doll bed, with an assortment of lovely little clothes. A girl’s dream come true.

Well, not my girl. She never complained. Never said an impolite word. But you could just see the discomfort she felt. It just didn’t feel like “her” room. Her room wouldn’t have fairies, and baby dolls, and teddy bears. So I carefully packed all of these up and stored them in a closet for the year. Naturally, though, I could do nothing about the fairy mural. And we couldn’t hang pictures up for fear of ruining the paint. We came up with a way of hanging posters from the curtain rod though, and that seemed to help.

What kind of posters, you ask? Why, Pokemon of course. And I also promised at that time that when we returned to Canada, she could have her own room decked out in full Pokemon regalia.

We arrived back in Canada in the middle of last winter. Life was busy settling back into school and work. Time passed quickly. But Stella had not forgotten the promise of a Pokemon room. I agreed that I would get her room together for October. October 1st came and went. Stella noted this. I bluffed and said that I meant by the end of October.

Since then, she has started creating reminders for me on post-it notes and discreetly leaving them about the house. Like this one that she left for me on my bedside table:

I know, it’s cute. And guilt-inducing.

But do you know how hard it is to do a Pokemon room? Sure, walk into any Sears and find Hot Wheels, My Little Pony, or Sponge Bob. But, Pokemon? Noooooo. One cannot find a single set of Pokemon bedsheets in all of Canada. I’m serious, I’ve looked everywhere. Nor can one find curtains, clocks, wall decor. The only place I’ve found them is on eBay. From international sellers. Second-hand.

And that’s my little story about how I found myself buying used sheets.  (And yes, I will be washing them in boiling hot water with lots of detergent when they finally make it here!)