Fall: The Sleepin's Good.

I forget every year how wonderful it is, those first cool nights. Crawling into bed and feeling the comforting weight of thick blankets pressing against my skin; cat curled up on my toes or across the corner of my shoulder, gently purring; loved one to my left side. The bed becomes a retreat, a soft, safe cocoon. Then in the morning--sunlight slanting across us or gray sky, it matters not--oh, so hard to wake up from autumnal slumber.

UPDATE: Nature has a sense of humor. The afternoon after I wrote this, a warm front moved in, and we're back to sleeping with the windows open and tolerating only a thin sheet. It's supposed to reach 80 degrees on Monday. Eighty!