Changing Attire for Bed

Up until the past six months or so, Kate’s choices of things to wear to bed have been the same as they were throughout our marriage. She has always been very conventional. She has several night gowns as well as a collection of robes. Her general pattern was to put on a robe over a gown and read before going to bed. Then she would take off her robe when she went to bed. More recently, she has made a change.

This began several months ago when she would bring a robe, but no gown, into our bedroom. When I noticed this, I asked if she would like me to get her a gown. She would either say yes or tell me that she would get one. After this happened a few times, I started getting a gown in advance and putting on her side of the bed. She often chose to wear what I was selecting but sometimes ignored what I had brought. In those instances she would get a robe.

For a while, I continued to select a gown for her, but it appeared from what she actually wore to bed that she preferred to sleep in a robe. I asked her if there were something about a robe that she preferred over a gown. That was silly for me to ask. Naturally, she was unable to explain and didn’t want to talk about it.

Since then, she has been following a fairly consistent routine. She usually sleeps in a robe, but once in a while she picks out a gown. There have been a few times when she has slept in her clothes. Last night, however, she made another change. We had come back from opera night at Casa Bella around 9:15. She got ready for bed pretty quickly. I got her medications. She brushed her teeth. Then she undressed. Instead of getting a robe or a gown, she put on the cardigan sweater that she had worn over her top when we went to Casa Bella. As I often do, I am wondering where this is going.