How Not to Sleep

Wake up early for no good reason, having just been dreaming of cake and ice cream. Realize your latest diet is getting to you.

Listen to your dog snore under the bed. She snores like an old man, a rumbling tractor snore that seems funny coming out of her fluffy, big-eyed teddy dog body. In and out. Rumble and silence. It's a relaxing sound that almost puts you back to sleep.

Listen to the fan that you use to put yourself to sleep at night. A rigged up sleep machine that doesn't turn off after ten minutes (but doesn't play the sounds of the rainforest either). The gentle whirrrrr reminds you of what? A breeze on a back porch? Driving with the window open? The womb?

Feel the sheets under your skin. A crinkly cotton blend, warm in the places your body has warmed it, cool pockets to rub your feet against where it hasn't. Stick your hands under the pillows and snuggle your face into them, breathing in and out your own breath.

Try this at home:
What keeps you up at night?