Sheets

Sheets. We have 5 sets that we rotate. And sheets are very important to cancer patients. We spend A LOT of time in bed. It helps to have good sheets.

We have a burgundy colored flannel set that, because of air conditioning, is used year round. I like them but have to remember to not wear my flannel nightgown when they are on. Flannel against flannel is just unwanted friction. What I like is when it is -2 degrees outside and I am in those sheets and the electric blanket is on high. 

We have a white bamboo set that my sisters bought for me when I first fought breast cancer in 2015. They are soft and wonderful. They are also on their last legs. Bamboo is not as sturdy as cotton. So, there are several little rips in them. One day, my toe will catch on these sheets and that will be that. Those lovely sheets will be dust cloths. Luckily, you can't really see the rips because the mattress pad under them is also white. But, I love bamboo. The softness. They do stain easily, but we have never been the types who eat in bed and do not have a pet that prefers to sleep with us any more. So, lucky. 

We have a gold 1500 thread count Egyptian cotton set. I like them but admit that they are really not any softer than my 250 count set. And they are trimmed with a brown ornate curley que uprised pattern that just bothers me for some odd reason. They truly look as if Cleopatra could wander in any moment and drop in for a nap. Not really me, but I wanted to see what that thread count felt like. Now, I know. Fine, but not so soft that I want to take up residence there. They are durable, though, We've had them for almost a decade and they have nary a rip or even show wear.

We have a plain grayish blue set of sheets. They are the color of the Pacific ocean off Hermosa Beach. It wasn't intentional, but that is what they remind me of. These were not originally mine. A friend of mine was dying of cancer a long time ago. I visited her home and as we talked, she mentioned that she only had two sets of sheets and that she rotated them. I asked her if I could buy a set for her and she said sure, that this would be nice. She asked if I would buy her blue sheets. I was in college. I had barely enough money to get through each month. I really couldn't afford to even buy myself sheets. I went to a store called Sears. I don't know if they are even in existence anymore. They were having a sheet sale, but for some odd reason, the blue sheets that I liked and could afford, did not come with pillow cases. You had to buy those separately. So, I could not match them exactly. The sheets were a lovely grayish blue and the pillow cases were a dark blue. Altogether, they were in my price range. As I said, I was in college, so I really had no notion of threat count. These were 250. I bought them and they sat in a sack on my dresser to be taken to my friend's home that weekend. She died the next day. So, I had a decision. Take them back or keep them. I decided to keep them in memory of her. It is now 40 years later and they are still in good condition. But. They aren't deliciously soft. They are durable. They are clean. They are the kind of sheets that I grew up with. And the good news is that the older cotton sheets get, the softer they become and they are very soft now. So, being practical at heart, I love them and use them. I do admit that when they are next in line in rotation, I sigh a little bit. 

And then we come to my favorite set of sheets. They are a pale teal blue pair from my sister, Jennie. She sent them to me shortly after I was diagnosed with MBC in 2018. They are Mellanni 1800 Bedding Brushed Microfiber and they are literally to die for. They are thin and tend to wrinkle easily. I could not care less. When I slide my foot into them, I feel as if I am a hot knife sliding into butter. My brittle bones soften. When I wake up in pain (which is nearly every night), I sometimes swish my foot back and forth and it is as comforting as an answered prayer. These sheets seem to absorb every fever that I suffer and when I am shivering, they warm me. Even the color suits me best. A soft teal. I can cry in these sheets (and I have) and the next day, the evidence of those tears is gone. I tend to sleep deeper and more evenly when I am wrapped in these. Plus, they are sentimental. They were given to me by someone whom I love, out of love. I offer my whitest light thoughts to her often as I crawl in that bed each night. Sometimes, I will even thank her out loud. 

"Thank you, Sister." 

Think about gifting a cancer patient with a good pair of sheets. Or even just cotton sheets. My grayish blue sheets are simple cotton but cotton is soft and durable. And you would be amazed at how much we appreciate it. We spend an incredible time in our beds and it means the world. 

Ask them what their favorite color is and try to get that. Or..if you don't know their favorite color, get something soothing. Blue. Green. Nothing neon. Yellow is nice, but when all you want to do is sleep, yellow can be what keeps you up instead of sends you away to dreamland. 

Buy those sheets. Do it.



































 

Comments

  1. I remember you writing about your love of great sheets years ago...and, believe it or not, I thought of you when I bought my first really nice set when I was newly single all those years ago.

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