Before I get to and through the next A to Z Challenge, I want to explain why I am participating. The A to Z Challenge has always been a trusted go-to for me when I cannot sleep. If I am tossing and turning away from home, hear funny noises outside my hotel room, or just feel homesick I turn to the A to Z challenge to tire out my brain. I usually hit on baseball themes, but sometimes it is pop culture, places I have visited, cartoons, TV shows, and movies. I don’t cheat, grab my computer or cellphone and look up answers just to complete the alphabet challenge. I work through the progression of the alphabet, sometimes skipping letters, but then returning to them once I get to Z. 9 times out of 10, it puts me in a more relaxed state and then I can doze off. So, with me posting these challenges, I am just relaying a cool trick to calm your mind, maybe before a big game or an important meeting. If I can make the world a better place with one trick of the NPR trade, I will do my best to do so.

To put a bow on the challenge idea, it is also a great creative writing exercise. One of many I intend to partake in this year and I will share them with you, and ask you to share your creativity with me, should you be so inclined. And now, without further ado, I present to you an alphabet of NPR (that’s yours truly) activities of my daily life. I’ll focus on the last 24 hours or so just so we don’t go too far off the rails here.

A – Ate a bowl of Honeynut Cheerios with blueberries and almond milk

B – Built several IKEA products with only one profanity tirade

C – Cut my finger opening an IKEA box, prompting the aforementioned profanity tirade

D – Drove over to Home Depot to get some paint to cover up some of my carpentry mishaps in the VA Beach house

E – Exfoliated my feet in the shower with this amazing brush and Dr. Squatch soap

F – Fried up some delicious BBQ chicken wings in my new Ninja Airfryer machine

G – Ground up some dog treats and sprayed them all over the dog’s dinner food so they would eat while Rachel and I left the house for a bit

H – Had an awesome time at the Norfolk State University baseball game

I – Installed new birdfeeders on the tree in the front yard, rationale to come later in the challenge

J – Joked with Rachel about Barry Gibbs voice during a PBS BeeGees Reunion special – didn’t end with Rachel laughing

K – Knocked out the time change situation on about 20 clocks in the house this am

L – Leashed up the dogs for a long, windy, cold walk at nearby Mount Trashmore

M – Made some beef stew to warm up my body – more specifically my hands because my office is very drafty and my hands freeze to sub zero status

N – Noticed after building several IKEA products that we (Rachel and I) still needed another box to complete our project, thus we had to go to IKEA again yesterday

O – Opened the windows in the kitchen and dining room to get some Spring air into the house, turns out it was still Winter air

P – Picked up dog poop in the front and back yards with my trusty claw thingy I got from PetSmart

Q – Quit teasing Barry Gibb and focused on praising the BeeGees and their incredible musical careers

R – Read the back cover of my new book to read and review – “October, 1964” by David Halberstam

S – Sang along with Chris Robinson and the Black Crowes performing Led Zeppelin songs, with Jimmy Page on guitar, at the Greek Theatre on multiple tunes

T – Took a one hour nap. Not sure how I do it, but I could literally take a nap at any hour of any day

U – Used my new Keurig coffeemaker to make a full carafe of delicious coffee, a success enjoyed by the entire household (2 of us) of coffee drinkers

V – Vented to Rachel about the state of journalism in this country for approximately the 1 millionth time

W – Walked into the VA Beach Recreation Center and re-joined for a year. Goal is to participate far more in 2025 than I did in 2024, which produced a low and unacceptable attendance figure for exercise for NPR.

X – X-tended a bubble gum offer to Rachel – a piece of unbelievably baseball delicious Big League Chew. Truly an honor for her.

Y – Yelled “Hi” to my neighbor as he drove past me and lifted up the dog poop claw thingy to wave for some reason. Not sure why I did that but I suppose it called for a salute of some sort at that moment?

Z – Zoinked one of my birdfeeders in the front yard with a fastball via Rookie’s favorite toy, the Buoy. I nailed that thing dead on and it collapsed to the ground and split open. Do I still have the aim? You bet your ass I do.

Well, there you go. A day in the exciting and often unpredictable life of yours truly, Noel Patrick Roby. The dogs, the house, the jokes, the mayhem, IKEA, cheerios – they all make up a wonderful life that I enjoyed. What did you this week that brought you enjoyment? Can you come up with an alphabet of stuff you did? If so, send me your list and add in a sprinkle of humor and humility. That stuff goes a long way in my world.