Tuesday, January 15, 2008

One... Two... Three...



There have been numerous times over the course of my life when I have tried the popularized method of counting sheep to get to sleep. I would close my eyes and picture a wooden fence with a bit of grass growing at the base of it, and one by one sheep would come into the picture, jump over the fence, and exit stage left. But it never got me to sleep.

Recently, however, I tried a new way of counting sheep. Instead of the sheep jumping over the fence, I pictured a whole herd of sheep standing close together and tried to count them as they moved around and smooshed into each other. I guess it was so difficult and frustrating that rather than continue such a tedious, pointless task, I just went to sleep.

Maybe you too have been fruitlessly counting your sheep jumping over a fence. Try the herd. It just might work for you too.

And maybe, just maybe, the rest of you have always counted the herd and I've just been somewhere out in left field with sheep jumping over fences. If that's the case, forget I ever mentioned it.

2 comments:

Jenn said...

I can honestly say that I've never tried counting sheep. I daydream when I'm trying to sleep. I think to myself "If I were to write a novel, what would it be about?" That usually puts me out in no time.

Oh, on a different note, check out my new attempt to make a blog. :P
http://jennwhit81.blogspot.com/

Anonymous said...

Every cartoon I've ever seen of someone counting sheep had them jumping over a fence. But your way makes much more sense to induce drowsiness. My problem is that when I try to sleep and can't it's always because I am trying to "solve" a lyric problem... and the sheep just refuse to be part of it.