I struggled to fall asleep. The night wasn't just cold, it was freezing! I shivered under my blanket, trying to keep warm. Winter had come early this year and in full force. I hadn't thought to get my extra blanket out of storage, and now I was suffering the consequence. I wrapped my sheet, blanket, and bedcover tighter around me, hoping that would hold the little body heat I had trapped inside. It was no use. I was fighting a losing battle. Numbness crept through my toes, and I imagined icicles forming on my blue, frozen feet.

      I tried everything I could think of to keep them warm. I rubbed them against each other. I smacked them against the edge of my bed. I tucked them underneath me. Nothing worked.

      Then, the thought popped into my head. Socks! If I had a pair of socks, they would help keep my feet from freezing. Wait a minute! I do have a pair of socks. They are on the chair, not more than two feet from the foot of the bed.

      Those socks were so close, but to get them and put them on meant that I would have to get out of my covers. Oh, how I wanted those socks, but I dreaded the thought of climbing out of bed to get them. The biting cold persisted. I tossed back and forth, trying to keep warm without having to expose my body to the real cold outside of my covers. Finally I had had enough. Here I was, exerting all of this extra energy trying to generate heat, when all I had to do was get out of bed and put on my socks.

      With one courageous deep breath I swung my covers back and sat up. Surprisingly, it wasn't much colder outside of my blanket. I grabbed my socks, slid them on, and slithered back under my bedding. The entire foray probably took no more than six seconds.

      It wasn't long before my feet thawed out. I relaxed a bit, already feeling the benefits of my newly acquired tool to combat the cold. Warmth spread through my whole being. I felt my eyelids flutter and close, and I fell into a deep, peaceful, warm sleep.

      I wonder how many people are like that. They struggle to find solutions to their problems, when the answer is not more than an arm's reach away.   

By Ethan Gale