An OCD24 Essay
Quirks 2
The Sequel
Don’t you hate it when you find yourself deep into the rabbit hole?
It doesn’t help that the beautiful Robin Klammer shoved me in. Okay, maybe not shoved, maybe just a gentle push. I admit I’m mostly off balance, so it could have been a slight nudge.
She and the sisters — I don’t think they wear habits, though they seem to have some odd ones — over at the publication
during one of their tea parties, coerced, er…convinced me to participate in an adventure of White Rabbit and Mad Hatter proportions
which some found mildly entertaining enough, but I found incredibly cathartic.
So here is the sequel.
Don’t press me or remind me, there could be a prequel.
Here are more things that get my goat. And if you wanted to know more about that expression, have a gander. MuddyUm now specializes in barnyard humor too, apparently.
Quirks 2
- No wrenches , hammers, chain saws or chain saw parts, or any other items that belong in the tool chest, on the kitchen counters! Just, WHY?
- Are you leaving the drawers open by an inch to make it easier for something (what???) to get in? Does it make you feel safer somehow to see the contents of the drawer? You are much younger than me. Is this a sign of early dementia — helps you to remember what’s in there? Pleeeeeeez explain.
3. I have misophonia. You might have it too, and just didn’t know it actually has a real name. It’s only had a name since 2001, so it’s a relatively new condition so far as being WOKE about it. It’s when you simply loathe hearing someone else chew or slurp their food. It extends into other things too, like pen clicking, tapping, and even loud breathing. And it must be genetic too. My son carries the gene. I know, because he can’t stand listening to me chew either. This is a pretty common quirk. You might even have it. I have to physically leave the room if someone is doing it near me.
It’s either that or put in silence reducing headphones or ear plugs. So now that you know about this, instead of huffing and puffing and rolling your eyes into the back of your head, you can politely tell your loved ones, “Dear, I have misophonia. I need to excuse myself from the table now.”
4. Kitchen cabinet doors left open. Another question. Is this for, I don’t know, waiting for Christmas? So the house brownies, fairies or Elves on the Shelves can have access? I just don’t understand. Am I the only one in the house that is troubled by this? Just another one of my quirks I guess.
5. I have this thing about socks in shoes. We all take our shoes off at the door. There’s a cool shoe rack there. It’s impossible to miss it. With 200 pairs of shoes there by the door, it cracks me up when people ask, “should I take my shoes off?” I laugh inside my head. In public, I just politely say, “well, that’s our practice here….if you are comfortable, sure, we’d love that!” But when the socks come off too and sit inside the shoes, I don’t know, that’s a whole other level of something I have trouble with. Might have something to do with the odors. There’s probably some clinical diagnosis waiting to be discovered and named there.
Okay, I’m stopping at five today.
You’re welcome.
Hey, come join my birthday party! You’re invited.
© Susan Brearley, 2019 All Rights Reserved
Susan Brearley is a brilliant strategist, a published book author, writer, seasoned editor, essayist, occasional comedy writer, and an accidental poet. She is currently working on her second book, a murder mystery about an OCD detective, who’s been called a “young version of Monk.” She’s a retired systems engineer and salesperson from IBM, a serial entrepreneur, and a survivor of a stage 4 inflammatory breast cancer since 1995. She’s also working on her US Coast Guard Captain’s license, has her US Sailing keelboat certification, and is the creator and elder teacher of a new program, “VisionQuest” that mentors and teaches adults of all ages how to create the life they were born to live. She is currently based in the mid-Hudson Valley, New York.