Did I Actually Lock The Door?

The Dangerous Mistake Of A Control Freak

Do you check that doors and windows are locked every time you leave the house? Do you always make sure that you didn’t forget anything, maybe with recurrent checking?

Do you ask yourself if you locked the door?

Checking and double-checking appliances, locks, and doors is part of my daily activities. I guess I’m a control freak.

Yet, even if you double-check everything, one day you rush while thinking about something else, and you realize that you are not sure if you did what you should have.

Or you make a mistake, like me.

On Sunday afternoon I got home with some friends, and I was the last person to enter my apartment. I didn’t lock the door since I was busy thinking about what I could offer to drink and eat.

I didn’t notice that there was a shoelace on the floor near the door, and it went between the wall and the doorjamb, so I closed the door, but it didn’t close completely. I was not aware of it.

We spent the evening talking and laughing, while our cat was walking around the house. Then, as usual, she disappeared to go to sleep in a wardrobe.

Before dinner, we heard a strange noise by the door, as if someone was trying to open it or get inside. Luckily I was close to it and I immediately went to check who was trying to enter.

When I opened the door, I noticed some movement down the stairs: it was my cat who got scared by the noise, and ran away.

I thought she was inside the house, but she spent at least one hour running around in the building. If I hadn't noticed her, she would have left.

I live in an apartment and the outside doors of the building are always open, so she might have ended up in the woods nearby, or in the street. She must have been confused and afraid since she spent all her life in an apartment.

In a few minutes, I might have lost her forever.

When I took her inside, I felt guilty and stupid because I think of myself as a person in control, while I didn’t check that the main door was not closed.

I couldn’t forgive myself.

Of all the checks you do in your daily life, first, check that your beloved animals are where you expect them to be. Then proceed with the regular obsessive checks that make you feel so comfortable and safe.

Only then you can tell yourself that yes, you have locked the door.

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