I don't consider myself OCD (obsessive/compulsive disorder), but I do believe I have some Monk-like tendencies. I guess you might say I am Monk-ish.
It all started when I was a kid. I shared a bedroom with my younger brother, Kerry. He was not at all interested in keeping our room clean. In fact, he was quite the slob at the time. I, on the other hand, liked keeping our room neat and tidy. We were kind of like Felix and Oscar in The Odd Couple. Kerry would mess up the room and I'd clean it up. On days when mom would insist the room be cleaned, (I wasn't perfect for goodness sake) Kerry would pay me to do his half of the cleaning. It was a sweet arrangement. I cleaned the room (which I would have done anyway) AND got paid. Later when we got a bit older we had a television in our room. This was really cool, but I couldn't relax and enjoy watching TV if the room was a mess. I would have to clean the room (including vacuuming) before I could watch TV. I just couldn't sit in the midst of clutter. It wasn't a problem when we were teenagers because we were given the luxury of our own rooms. No more messes for me!
Some of these tendencies have followed me into my adult life. but I've gotten a little better about not being so neat about everything. My desk at work is a little messy and I am okay with that. My garage seems to be a catch-all and I am fine with that too. I do like to keep the living area of our house clean. This is not a problem though. Tami keeps a good house and I'm only there to help. I'm also a little fanatical about my yard. I don't like weeds in the flower beds, bare spots in the grass or debris laying around. I also do not like it if my grass gets too long or if the pool is dirty. So yeah, I think I am a bit Monk-ish.
Tami kind of laughs at me for these tendencies. I'm very deliberate and cautious about things. A good example would be me being protective of my new grill. After assembling it and meticulously taking care of all the details (greasing and seasoning the grates for example), I kept it indoors until it was time for its first use. I mentioned how the grill got its first use... the steak dinner we had with Michael. What I didn't tell you was before the steaks were grilled, I had to grill some sweet potatoes that had already been boiled. I put them on the grill and they promptly turned to mush and started oozing down into the spaces between the grates. It was a terrible mess and I confess I was very upset (confession is good for the soul). Here was my beautiful new grill and the first thing I put on it was an epic failure. I likened it to trying to grill Jell-O. After much complaining, grousing and whining (I did mention I'm not perfect, right?), the sweet potatoes were salvaged, the mess was burned off the grates and the steaks were cooked perfectly. Everything worked out in the end. Tami thinks I was upset with her because the sweet potato recipe was her idea. I wasn't upset or angry with her at all. She had no idea (and neither did I) that the sweet potatoes would turn to mush. I just couldn't stand seeing my new grill in such a gloppy mess. I got over it eventually. Getting back to the original point... I'm very protective of my grill for several reasons. I want it to last a long time because it was expensive. I want it to stay in tip-top condition so we can enjoy grilled meals for years to come. And obviously because I just want it to stay looking nice. The other thing I didn't tell you (here's where my Monk-like tendencies really kick in), was after that first use, I dragged the grill back indoors. Violent storms were predicted for that night and I didn't want my new grill to possibly get damaged. Yes, it has a cover, but just like Monk, I had to overdo it in the caution department. As it turns out the storms never materialized and my cautious actions were (as they usually are) unnecessary. The grill is still sitting in my dining room (propane tank disconnected and left outside) The next time the grill is placed outdoors it will stay there. Even I don't want a grill in my dining room all summer. That would be crazy... or would it? I think I'll ask Monk what he would do.
No comments:
Post a Comment