Women of a Certain Age

I have a confession - I am a woman of a certain age.  Normally, I wouldn't admit this, but our compulsive overachiever pointed out that I've shared so much else with you, I may as well share that. Anyway, for those of you who are not "women of a certain age," what it means is that I have trouble sleeping..  I crawl into bed, get under the covers, and five minutes later throw off all the blankets because I am broiling hot.  Another five minutes later, I bring the sheet back over me, then the blanket up to my waist, then my shoulders, and then.....I'm broiling again.  This little dance goes on for hours before I can get to sleep.  Then it starts up again at about 5am until the alarm goes off.  I've been tired, plus the bags under my eyes were making me look like a woman of a certain age.  We can't let that happen, so I started to think of solutions.

The most obvious solution was to turn down the thermostat.  That really didn't solve the problem, plus it created a new one in the form of my Honey, who was shivering all night under 3 blankets.  We have to make sacrifices for a relationship, but he was unwilling to start chipping ice blocks for us to make an igloo.  So, up went the thermostat.  Then, I turned on the ceiling fan.  Still not great, and Honey was still freezing. I bought a floor fan and aimed it only at me.  It was somewhat better some nights, but I still didn't get a full night's sleep.  Sleeping nude? (sorry for the TMI)  Nope, didn't work.  I started researching moisture and heat wicking sheets and sleepwear.  The sheets were really expensive and didn't get great reviews.  The sleepwear was pretty ugly and expensive, plus the reviews were spotty.  I started to resign myself to a life of sleepless nights.  Then I stopped.  I took a deep breath.  I cleared my mind of preconceived notions.  I started to think outside the box.  Why was I focusing on sleepwear and sheets?  What if I expanded my thoughts beyond the obvious?  Wait a minute.  I'm a runner.  What do runners have?  Under Armour and Dri Fit - in short, moisture and heat wicking clothes.  Could the solution be in my own closet?  I pulled out a Heat Gear shirt.  I put it on.  I slept.  All night.  Just to be sure, I did it again the next night.  Yup, a good night's sleep.  After the third night, I knew we had a solution.  I told my other friends of a certain age.  They tried it and slept too.  Problem solved.

Oh my,  could I think of a better way to describe the benefits of brainstorming in the collaborative process?  I don't think so.  Here in the Trenches, we handle a lot of cases collaboratively.  One of the stages of the collaborative process is brainstorming.  Brainstorming occurs after you've gathered all the information.  It involves opening your mind to all the possible solutions to a problem.  It requires clearing your mind and just thinking, and throwing ideas out for consideration.  No option is too silly, impractical or undesireable.  Why is that so important?  Because like my contemplation of sleepwear, sometimes thinking of sleepwear reminds you of other clothing, and other clothing reminds you of running, and before you know it, the option you throw out for consideration is the acceptable solution to the problem.  If you don't open your mind to consider all the possibilities, if you only think in a linear fashion and consider the obvious, you may miss the best and most workable solution.  You may miss that one option that meets everyone's needs, as opposed to some or one person's needs.   This is not easy to do, especially for our clients here in the Trenches who are in the midst of the most emotionally charged period of their lives.  It requires a lot of support from the professionals who are helping them through the process.  Some folks can never do it, but for those who can, it is magic.  You can see it in their faces.  They have solved the unsolvable.  Here in the Trenches.