The (unexpected) Joy of Polyester!

Like so many of you, the thought of crawling into bed with a pair of freshly-laundered, soft, white cotton sheets at the end of the day makes my heart skip a beat. And, if those dream sheets just happen to be of the particularly indulgent kind, that also boast a high thread-count and exotic beginnings, then you know exactly what I mean. Actually, just writing about them makes my breath pause, then quicken, as I stop and do a mental happy dance in anticipation...

But, the other day I was making the bed, and the current weather had me undecided on which sheets to use. Don't get me wrong, it's not as if I have a linen closet filled with wonderful choices, but when the temperature at night has been going from 90F to 42F in the space of a week, it makes a seemingly dreary task take on some slight measure of importance. Not one to change my sheets very often, I love the blissful results when I do, but never the act itself. 

So, with wacky weather on my mind, and not being quite ready to commit to my favorite, plaid flannel, I grabbed a cheerful, red geometric set that I spied at the bottom of the closet. As soon as I touched them, I remembered why they were sitting, neglected at the bottom, but the saturated colors and fun shapes danced in front of me, and convinced me to give the perky polyester another try. 

As I easily wrapped the fitted sheet around the mattress, I found myself smiling at how pretty it all looked, and how the colors and shapes were still just as perfect as the day I had brought them home. Ridiculously inexpensive, they had been a random purchase (and a small dose of retail therapy) when I needed a quick boost. 

Smoothing the sheets, I marveled at how I didn't have to run from one corner of the bed to the other, doing the crazy diagonal dance, and trying to stretch the unstretchable, as each end ricocheted back on itself as soon as I moved across the room.

I didn't miss the dance at all, and I daren't say that my bed looked like something from a magazine when I was finished, but I will say that I wouldn't have minded one little bit if you'd have popped over that afternoon and felt inclined to take a photograph of it. 

When I went to bed that night, I was once again struck by the beautiful design and gorgeous fit of the sheets, and I can say with complete honesty, that my (perhaps snobbish?) cotton-rich loyalty took a temporary back seat to my pretty, perky, polyester dreams...