Sleep Evasion

Lay down, pull the covers up to your chin and close your eyes. Don’t think about how your roommates drank your expensive beer. Don’t think about how you’re even madder at yourself for not saying something.  Don’t think about the time your best friends bailed out last minute and left you with a camping spot bill to pay.  Or how you used to be invisible in school. Close your eyes. Think happy thoughts. Think about your first kiss, you were so surprised and pleased. You would have been more pleased if he hadn’t turned out to be so needy and manipulative. Think about what it feels like to eat your favourite meal on a truly empty  stomach. The sense of comfort you feel when you go to family gatherings.  Think about the salt smell of the ocean and the sound of gentle waves.
Don’t think about the glass of water you drank before you laid down.  How it must have almost reached your bladder by now. Think about slipping into happy dreams – flowers cascading down around you, showering you in their scent. Continue to try this for a bit before giving up.  Reluctantly, pull back the covers, visit the bathroom to void your bladder before snuggling back under the covers to try again.