On Back to Sleep

How you ever been able to not fall asleep? Which is worse being unable to fall asleep, or awakening in the middle of the night and being unable to return to sleep?

We know the tale of just counting sheep jumping over a fence, but how many sheep have you ever seen jumping a fence?

My wife was discussing with a coworker her inability to return to sleep, and the coworker said that a relative who is a doctor suggested that when you get up in the middle of the night to visit the pee-pee room, first, don’t look at the clock. If you can’t return to sleep, do the following: select a broad topic (movie titles, car models, authors, trees, wine brands, baseball players, or whatever) and then go through the alphabet selecting a word for each letter that has to do with a selected topic.

As one who enjoys problem-solving exercises, the first time I tried this I stayed awake because I was obsessed with completing the task! Because of my experience, not only here’s the topic that I use, but a list to jump-start your mind for whenever you need. Heck, I now start with naming 3 per letter.

By the way, this is NOT meant to be a comprehensive list of U.S. produce, let alone the world.

Topic: Grocery Store Product Department

A) Asparagus, apples, arugula, avocado, alfalfa sprouts, apricot, artichokes

B) Broccoli, brussel sprouts, bibb lettuce, bananas, bean sprouts, beets, bok choy, blueberries

C) Carrots, cucumbers, cabbage, cherries, cranberries, cauliflower, celery, chard, collards, coconut, corn, chives, cilantro, cactus pears

D) Dill, dates, D’Anjou pears, dandelion greens

E) Escarole, eggplant, endive, Empire apples

F) Fennel, figs, fava beans

G) Grapes, Grapefruit, green beans, garlic, ginger, guava

H) Honey Crisp apples, honeydew, Habanero peppers, horseradish, Heirloom tomatoes

I) Iceberg lettuce, Italian parsley

J) Jonathon apples, Jalepeno peppers, jicama

K) Kale, kiwi, kumquats, King Royal pears

L) Lemons, limes, lettuce, lemongrass, lychee

M) Melons, mustard greens, mango, mushrooms, morels

N) Nectarines, nuts

O) Onions, oranges, okra, oregano, oyster mushrooms

P) Pineapple, parsley, peaches, papaya, portabella, pecans, parsnips, peas, pears, plums, potatoes, pomegranate, pumpkin, persimmon, plantains, pine nuts

Q) Quince, Queen Pineapples

R) Radishes, romaine, Roma tomatoes, Russett potatoes, rosemary, rhubarb, radicchio, rhutabaga

S) Spinach, strawberries, sage, squash, Shittake mushroom, star fruit

T) Tomatoes, tomatillos, tangerines, tangelos, taragon, thyme, tara root, turnips

U) Ugly fruit

V) Valencia oranges

W) Watermelon, white asparagus, watercress, walnuts

X) —

Y) Yellow squash, yucca root, Yukon potatoes, Yams

Z) Zucchini