Thoughts of spring

Spring is officially here and despite the gray sky outside and the
drizzle/rain leaking from the clouds I have to admit the change. I
was able to sleep a night without a flannel shirt over my flannel
nightgown and it was even sufficiently warm that I tossed off the
comforter in the middle of the night. A few more nights like that and
the heavy comforter can be replaced with the heavy blanket. That in
turn will give way to a lighter blanket as summer rolls around and
the ankle-length flannel is succeeded by knee-length cotton nightwear.

Oh, for the times when I was occasionally warm enough to shuck
nightgown completely and eschew even a sheet for covering. It is hard
to recall nights when it was that warm. On the Oregon coast nights
can reach chill even at the height of summer, dipping into the 50's
so that even the young reach for a warm covering. No longer young and
rapidly passing middle age warm seems to have become merely
theoretical though being post menopausal night sweats are still
happening. My mind is ever conscious of my narrowing zone of
comfortable temperatures. I have a plethora of sweaters, shirts,
jackets, blankets, shawls, wraps and hats to fit each degree of
temperature change.

It just occurred to me that some clever fellow out there could make
his fortune with all of us baby-boomers now approaching our chill
seniortude. Invent a fabric that is both natural (remember: we are
the fledgling ecology age) and adjusts itself to keep the wearer
always at a set heat level. Non-itchy (we are fussier these days),
inexpensive (we are retiring and on fixed incomes), wash and wear
(who dry-cleans?), and comes made into clothes of loose baggy sizes
to accommodate loose baggy bodies.