Happy Birthday to Me!
It is 1:00 a.m. on December 14, 2014. I have been 44-years-old for 1 hour now. I must say, this is starting out to be a great birthday. No, seriously. Right now, the house is quiet and I am dusting off my Simplicity Uber blog. A quiet house and time to write truly brings joy to my soul.
I owe this opportunity of tranquility to my husband, the Mr., of 25 years. Over the weekend, he has given me an amazing gift. He helped me "spring clean" our house. And? And, nothing! Helping me "spring clean" is an amazing gift for one simple reason: I have OCD. Let me explain. The type of OCD I have is "all-or-nothing." I am also a fanatic about making lists.
Anyway, if you know anything about OCD and the "all or nothing" affects it has on folks like me, then you will understand why his gift is so perfect. Because he helped me spring clean, my laundry is done, my dishes are done, my kitchen counters are c-l-e-a-r (yes!!!), house is vacuumed, bathrooms are scrubbed... Because my house is in order, I feel free to be able to work on some projects that are noted on one of my many lists. When things are out of order, particularly things in my visual field, it can be crippling at times. For example, this spring cleaning all started a few days ago when I had expressed a desire to start walking around the neighborhood everyday for exercise. The Mr said, then just do it. Just do it? Is he nuts? I said, "hello, do you see my kitchen counters? There is just too much stuff in my kitchen and I need to clean it and get rid of some clutter." There was quite an intense discussion about how "it is o.k. to walk away from disorganization and go focus entirely on another task." He was not hearing me when I was explaining, "I want to go walk. I need to go walk. I would love to go walk, but I can't go walk until I have everything in order that is around me." After much debate, I reluctantly agreed to walk away from the kitchen. I put on my walking shoes, grabbed my earphones, a leash, one of the dogs and I was out the door. Getting ready to go walk felt tense, but once I was outside breathing fresh air and enjoying a nice walk, my anxiety settled. The walk was refreshing and felt so good. The crisp Georgia air was perfect. Buckley, one of our boxers, really enjoyed strutting his handsome self around the neighborhood. I have two boxers, but at nearly 100 lbs each, I took only one with me. The other had his turn the following day. When I walked back into the house and entered the kitchen, I froze. My counter tops were clear and the kitchen was sparkling clean. My first reaction was panic thinking "where's my stuff?" But looking at clear counter tops also brought relief. I find comfort when everything around me is clear and simple without clutter. The Mr started a chain of events that would flow through the weekend; spring cleaning. Now, my laundry is all caught up, my kitchen is clear without clutter, my bathrooms are scrubbed, almost everything is in its own place. Almost. Without the visual distraction of things out of place, I feel free to tackle some projects on my lists; one of which is writing, so here I am.
So, its my birthday and the Mr gave me the gift of an almost de-cluttered house. The perfect gift for an OCD weirdo like me. That Mr, he is a good egg. Oh and did I mention that he gave me a vacuum cleaner for my birthday? A Dyson at that. I love it. Yep, he is definitely a good egg.
It feels nice having my house in order on my birthday. Now I can really enjoy my day. I am really looking forward to my birthday dinner. A small group of family and friends will be going to eat on the north side of Atlanta for Korean BBQ. I am so exited. I love Korean BBQ.
Happy birthday to me! Yum Yum.
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