Insomnia

Beth had her seven-year-old checkup a couple of days ago. As she sat on the examining table, crinkling the stiff, white paper that lay underneath her, the pediatrician asked her a series of questions.

"Any headaches? Any trouble seeing the board at school? Any trouble hearing the teacher?"

She responded in the negative to each question, until finally he asked about her sleeping habits.

"What time do you normally go to bed? What time do you usually wake up? Do you ever have any trouble falling asleep?"

Beth slapped her hand down on the table, and threw back her head.

"Yes!", she responded. "I'm sooo glad that you asked me that. I always have trouble falling asleep. I'm usually soo tired, but I share a room with my sisters. They keep talking and talking, and I can't fall asleep until someone comes in and tells them to stop. Is there something you can do about that?!"

The pediatrician suppressed a smile, and solemnly told Beth that this was out of his realm.

Beth sighed, and the pediatrician moved onto the next question.

Perhaps it's time for some ear plugs...