Bob Ross, the drug-free way to relax and fall asleep

Earlier this week I was lying in bed, looking through Netflix to find something to watch. Then I saw "Bob Ross: Beauty is Everywhere". I think the series is made up of select episodes from his old  "Joy of Painting" Series.

Right, that's him. The guy who paints Happy Trees and says there are no mistakes, only happy accidents. I told my wife that we should watch Bob Ross because nothing is more relaxing than watching him paint. It had been over 20 years since I'd watched him on PBS, but I remember falling asleep on the couch during his show. My wife wasn't interested.

Then my son Samuel came in to say goodnight. He has trouble getting to sleep and is always trying new ways to relax at bedtime - meditation, breathing exercises, listening to spa music, etc. I told him to watch this show with me, it's the most relaxing show in the world. He climbed into bed between us and loved it. Along with repeatedly saying, "Wow, he's amazing", by the end of the show Sam was almost asleep.

Now it's become his bedtime routine - he goes into our room and watches an episode of Bob Ross on Netflix. We laugh at the things he says - "Beat the devil out of it" when he cleans his brushes is Sam's favorite. My favorite is when he says "Let's get crazy" in a calm, soft tone.  By the end of an episode Sam's struggling to keep his eyes open, and then he goes to his bed. The funny thing is, my wife's been watching it with us and has fallen asleep before the episode is over a couple of times.

So for anyone having trouble getting to sleep or just wanting to relax, before reaching for that bottle of sleeping pills or any of that other harmful stuff, trying watching Bob Ross. After just one half hour episode, you'll probably be asleep and dreaming of happy trees. As Bob Ross says, there's nothing wrong with having a tree as a friend.