OCD??? Why, yes! Superstitious?? Absolutely!

This used to be something I was ashamed of and attempted to keep secret at all costs, but I've recently come to accept my OCD-edness and use it to my advantage. It all started back in 3rd grade when my mom began to notice that the kitchen cupboards always had things lined up in order of size and color. Then she started to notice that anytime I locked the door, I had to shake it 3 times, every time. And then she began to notice that every time I washed my hands, I washed them 3 times, from start to finish. At this point, she realized that she had a peculiar little girl on her hands (and she was right). So, she took me to the Dr. who then diagnosed me with OCD. For real. I was 9 years old. I didn't know I was any different from anyone else and thought that everyone else was as compulsive and obsessed about order as me. I did my fair share of therapy and took my fair share of medication, which did help the excessiveness of my OCD, but I've always had this little part of me that comes out every now and then and needs to organize! I've had struggles on and off with things needing to be perfect (my body, my handwriting, my house, etc), but now I finally feel like I'm at a place where I mostly have things under control...but every now and then, I find myself spending my free time organizing.

For example...

And yes...

Since having Kellen, the frequency of my crazy organizing has gone WAY down. However, I'll sometimes find myself organizing something while Kellen is taking a nap. I don't know what it is, but I just really enjoy seeing things look straight and orderly. The funny thing is, I'm not this way about everything. For instance, check out my room...

*that nasty thing at the end of the bed, covered in feathers, is a sheet warmer that we've just neglected to put on the bed yet...

Have you ever seen one of those hoarding shows on A & E or TLC? You know how there are those professional organizers who come in and help the hoarders get rid of things and then organize their entire house? I'm pretty sure this would be a super awesome job for me. I've looked into it online, but I don't think it's something I'll ever seriously consider. I like my job too much, but maybe sometime on the side...

Another odd thing about me is that I'm superstitious. I think everyone has their superstitions, but mine might be just a little weirder than some. For instance, I have this weird thing about the number 6. I do not like the number 6. It scares me. Ever since I was a little girl and I found out that putting that number in repeat three times is evil, I hated it. If I see that number on people's license plates, I have to speed by them so that their car doesn't crash into me. If I have six of something in front of me, I either have to get rid of one of them or get another one so as to avoid the number. If I'm exercising, I will go out of my way to avoid doing something that many times.

My superstitions caused me to keep this...

No, I am not pregnant again. I don't know why, but I find myself holding on to these pregnancy tests for some odd reason. I have some type of worry that if I get rid of them, something horrible will happen.

I also still have this.

For those of you who are wondering, this is a little piece of Kellen's umbilical cord. The last piece that fell off. I felt that if I didn't hold on to this, I was being a horrible mother and throwing away the last thing that attached Kellen to me.

Now, I know all of this may sound just absolutely crazy to some of you, but I've found a way to make these quirks work for me. I figure that as long as they don't get in the way of me living my life, they are fine. Thankfully, Aaron knows these crazy things about me and will let me know if I start to go a little crazy with organizing. I think he partially enjoys it, because he comes home to a really clean closet or cupboard every now and then ;)