Am I overreacting?

[HSmom25andRN]

I've never heard of a hotel room that had 4 twin beds. :001_smile: I would also have expected two doubles or queens for 4 people.

I agree.

[Annie Laurie]

Never mind, I missed that this is an old thread and it's been all talked out.

Edited July 13, 2012 by Annie Laurie

[Nan in Mass]

That is great! And yes, next time you will know. Your son probably has a good idea of what is potential fodder for the jokers and what is not so that sleeping bag and air mattress is probably a good idea. You can make a nice bedroll out of a thin sleeping bag with a cheap camping pad rolled around the outside and tied with a piece of cord. It is durable and stays together and looks fairly neat and would keep him off the floor and independent. I always aim for independence when mine are traveling. (Guess that's why I send so many granola bars and almonds lol.) That way, they are less likely to weigh doubts about an activity against comfort and let comfort over-rule their instincts. It cuts down on the learning, but it makes me feel better. Anyway, thanks for the update. I did wonder how it all went. That's great!

Nan

[stripe]

I remember years ago, ok - over a decade ago going on a field trip that included a tour of a very old hotel. The bed was made of rope with a star tick mattress on top. I remember being told when you got a spot in the hotel you actually got a portion of the bed and would have to share with a couple of strangers who paid for other portions of the bed.

 

Can someone find out for me if my memory is true.

This is my understanding of how hotels used to work.

 

Also there are some people who believe they see evidence of Abraham Lincoln's homosexual behavior in affectionate letters to a male friend, with whom he shared a bed.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexuality_of_Abraham_Lincoln

Anyhow in this are citations about bed sharing at hotels.

[CyndiLJ]

My thoughts as I read this thread:

 

1) Big differences between the genders in their comfort with this kind of situation. Girls don't question it, boys can't tolerate it.

 

2) Kids from larger families often don't consider it an issue, all too often when traveling as a family they have to sleep on the floor of bunk with sibs and it isn't as big a deal because it is the norm and expected.

 

3) This one bothers me the most. Our society has devolved to the point where two young men can not share an enormous bed without fears of what it might mean. 100 years ago, this would have made someone a laughing stock as people stacked upon one another sharing tiny quarters. Today, we have sadly come to a point where young men would rather sleep on a hard floor for fear of being labeled homosexual for merely sharing a perfectly good and large bed with another young man. I am sure I am in the minority here in finding that to be a cultural statement that causes me to feel disturbed about where we are headed.

 

Cindy

[bkpan]

My thoughts as I read this thread:

 

1) Big differences between the genders in their comfort with this kind of situation. Girls don't question it, boys can't tolerate it.

 

2) Kids from larger families often don't consider it an issue, all too often when traveling as a family they have to sleep on the floor of bunk with sibs and it isn't as big a deal because it is the norm and expected.

 

3) This one bothers me the most. Our society has devolved to the point where two young men can not share an enormous bed without fears of what it might mean. 100 years ago, this would have made someone a laughing stock as people stacked upon one another sharing tiny quarters. Today, we have sadly come to a point where young men would rather sleep on a hard floor for fear of being labeled homosexual for merely sharing a perfectly good and large bed with another young man. I am sure I am in the minority here in finding that to be a cultural statement that causes me to feel disturbed about where we are headed.

 

Cindy

 

Then I am in the minority as well. C.S. Lewis included this expected result in his book The Four Loves. He wrote that one of the biggest tragedies of societal focus on homosexuality was that male friendship was doomed. He spoke of the lost ability for two or more men to share the close and intimate friendships they had enjoyed in the past and the self-conscious reactions they would have to physical closeness. It is a tragic loss.

[CyndiLJ]

Then I am in the minority as well. C.S. Lewis included this expected result in his book The Four Loves. He wrote that one of the biggest tragedies of societal focus on homosexuality was that male friendship was doomed. He spoke of the lost ability for two or more men to share the close and intimate friendships they had enjoyed in the past and the self-conscious reactions they would have to physical closeness. It is a tragic loss.

 

Interesting, and so very, very sad! We live in a world where we are so distanced from one another, men in particular, and we do nothing but reinforce reasons for ever more distance. That self-consciousness that men feel with one another harms them in ways we might not fully understand yet. Men are different in the way they relate, for sure, but that doesn't mean they don't NEED to relate in the ways that work for them! The walls are growing thicker and thicker with each passing year, then we are left asking why they have a harder time relating to their wives and children.

 

It is because we make it all taboo.

[angel marie]

I have 2 boys and when they share hotel rooms for school functions they put 4 boys in a hotel room with 2 queen beds. THe boys decide who sleeps in the beds, if they take turns, or whatever. I know we want our kiddies to be taken care of, but honestly boys can handle sleeping on the floor even if they had a long plane ride. If I were to act like it was horrible for my child to sleep on the floor, he would probably act that way too.

I will say this. One of my sons does this. He announces that he is sleeping in one of the beds and if someone else wants to sleep with him--great, but he is not sleeping on the floor. So the other guy has to decide whether to sleep on floor or not, and someone else is NOT kicking him out of the bed.

 

The guys seems to always handle it like this. Girls, well they would sleep 10 in the bed if you let them. He'll me okay, mom! ;) If you call, you will look overbearing.

Angel

[Candid]

My thoughts as I read this thread:

 

1) Big differences between the genders in their comfort with this kind of situation. Girls don't question it, boys can't tolerate it.

 

2) Kids from larger families often don't consider it an issue, all too often when traveling as a family they have to sleep on the floor of bunk with sibs and it isn't as big a deal because it is the norm and expected.

 

3) This one bothers me the most. Our society has devolved to the point where two young men can not share an enormous bed without fears of what it might mean. 100 years ago, this would have made someone a laughing stock as people stacked upon one another sharing tiny quarters. Today, we have sadly come to a point where young men would rather sleep on a hard floor for fear of being labeled homosexual for merely sharing a perfectly good and large bed with another young man. I am sure I am in the minority here in finding that to be a cultural statement that causes me to feel disturbed about where we are headed.

 

Cindy

 

I think context is important. My ds, 15, recently when on a missions trip where the boys slept in camping tents (vs. the girls who got army tents with cots). His group chose to sleep 5 in a what was probably a 4 man tent and put their stuff outside their tent so they could do that. I think they must have been squashed, probably way more close than I'd want to sleep with anyone! So some how the context was enough different than the OP's son for them to not even have a thought about sleeping arrangements.