a 250 thread count will do

There's nothing like slipping into a clean-sheeted, freshly made bed. Everything is tight, fitted at the edges, and it's almost an act of acrobatics to climb inside without disrupting the sheet and pulling it out of its tucked in place. My bed only stays this way a day or two after I change the sheets. Within a few, it's been kicked about, tossed in and turned on so that I can no longer tell which direction the sheet should be going. But for now, it's perfect.

My grandma used to keep my bed at their house snug and fresh smelling. When Oma came to tuck me in (or sometimes Opa), I actually felt like I was being tucked, firmly placed into the bed, rather than just settling under the sheets like I did in my bed at home. That's what I like about the newly made bed - the feeling of security and protection that seems to promise a good night's sleep. Maybe that's what I like about sleeping in hotel beds too. Despite knowing that the beds might not always be "freshly made", the sheets are tight enough around the edges to make me believe they were put on just for my arrival.

And the next best thing about bed is that feeling of utter exhaustion, the one you get after a long day on vacation with your family or traveling with friends or even just being out in the sun. The feeling that comes after imagining what it will feel like to lay down and pull the covers up to your chin, to just close your eyes and let your body exorcise its weariness. It is the feeling of finally untucking those sheets, sliding under, and stretching your legs to one end of the mattress while you plump up the pillows (always two) under your face, fold your arms underneath, and fall asleep.