Friday, February 17, 2012

random and obsessive fear

We all have them.  These random and obsessive fears that keep us up at night, that make us check, check and check again.  They may be neurotic, maybe silly, yet regardless of how trivial they may be, I have several...
  • The first is a fear that I will walk out of the washroom with my skirt/dress tucked in.  You know the fear ladies.  You are in a hurry, you have to get back to class, etc.  I am, however, more afraid of walking into a class full of my students with my skirt tucked into my tights than I am of being a fraction of a second late.  I always, ALWAYS check and then check again to make sure that my skirt is fully UNtucked and properly falling around my legs.  I would be mortified if this happened.
  • Another fear is that my dryer will burn down my house.  I hear of this happening all of the time.  The lint builds up and then suddenly everything is on fire.  Our dryer is in our basement, so it could easily start a fire and we wouldn't know it until it was too late.  I am obsessive about my dryer.  I used to think that my husband emptied the lint trap every time he dried a load, the same as I do, but I found out otherwise this summer when my cousin found it full of lint so now I am even more obsessive about it.  I also refuse to leave the dryer running when I leave the house and even have a REALLY hard time leaving it running as we go to bed.  Usually I will only leave it if I have checked it right before bed and there are only 10 or 15 minutes left in the cycle.
  • I also fear getting sick from spoiled milk, yogurt, bread, etc.  I realize that the expiration dates are basically suggestions and many people eat day or two old bread or whatever all of the time and they are fine, but I just don't.  If it is spoiled, don't give it to me or my family.  I always check and get the bread, milk, or whatever that has the expiration date furthest from the current date.  I will paw around and shift things to the back of the shelf to find it.  We are pretty good about using food up before it expires, but if there is a hint of spoiling, out it goes!  I have NO idea where this fear came from, but I am freakish about it
  • Along the lines of food I am also irrationally afraid of obtaining an illness from raw chicken meat.  Every time I handle raw chicken I wash my hands about a million times, once it thaws I put the plate it was on DIRECTLY into the dishwasher-I won't even let it sit in the sink.  If some meat happens to contact the counter or the inside of the sink I clean the heck out of it.  I am crazy about ensuring that the meat is cooked completely as well, and sometimes I accidentally overcook it just to be sure.
What are some of your neurotic fears and obsessions? 

2 comments:

  1. Anonymous7:43 PM

    I also get very neurotic about cleaning with lysol whenever anyone is sick or getting over being sick. I have noticed that I have gotten worse since having children. For me, its wanting the best for them and protecting them. We also won't leave our washer going while away for fear that it might overflow and flood everything. Great Post!!

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  2. Anytime someone is sick in my house, I bleach the shit out of everything. I am also obsessive about the dryer lint trap... EVERY TIME you have to empty it. OK, here is my weird one... underwear have to be washed on a separate cycle in the hottest water imaginable. My friend went to a daycare inservice once and the stuff that gets on your clothes is SO grody when you wash your underwear with your clothes. I am freakishly obsessive about this. Also, towels get the same treatment, separate on hot.

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