I was optimistic yesterday. The high temperature was to be 53℉ (12℃). After weeks of arctic cold and the accompanying heavy clothes that go with it, I was excited to wear something besides pants. I swam, took a steaming shower, and decided to mix things up with my clothes for the day. I dressed not in jeans or corduroys or wide-legged cargo pants, but in a skirt and fleece-lined tights.

I made it to mid-morning before I changed. Even with a blanket on my lap, and even working from my son’s desk upstairs instead of my cold basement office, I could not stay warm. I was chilled enough that I knew that changing from a skirt to pants alone wouldn’t do it; I needed two layers.

I went down to the laundry room, also in the cold basement, and rooted around in my basket of clean clothes for the thermal underwear I’d washed and dried over the weekend. I considered throwing the bottoms in the drier to warm them up but didn’t want to have to wait. When I brought them upstairs to change, though, they were icy in my hand. I shivered to think of pulling them on cold. I thought maybe I’d sit on them while I worked to warm them up before I put them on. Then I saw a bright patch of sunlight beaming down on our bedroom carpet.

The front of our house faces south, and sometimes during the work day, I’ll take a break to go stand in the sun that pours through the windows. I’ll put my hands up to warm them, and I’ll just stand there and enjoy the heat that radiates through the glass.

When I saw the patch of sunlight on the floor — the sunbeam the cats frequently lie in to warm themselves — I knew what to do with my long johns. I lay them in the rectangle of light framed by the window, then worked at my laptop in our son’s room to give them time to soak up the sun’s heat.

After about 10 minutes, I went back to check on them. Our cat Tubbles was curled up on them in the sunlight. Double heat! I pressed my palm against the kitty-free leg, and the waffly fabric was as toasty as if I’d just taken it out of the drier.

I shooed Tubbles away so I could change into my sun- (and cat-) warmed underlayer. As soon as I slipped my first foot in and felt the cozy heat of the thermal against my ankle, I knew I’d made a good choice. What a luxury to warm clothes up before putting them on!