Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.

I seriously think I have this. To a degree, anyway. This past week, I've stayed up until the wee hours of the morning because I couldn't leave a project unfinished. In the past two months, I have done so many projects around the house that I really think I'd forget some if I tried to count them. I've covered two chairs, stained and covered two footstools for said chairs, refinished my dining table, refinished and covered the piano bench, sewed a curtain for the back door, painted hardware for cabinets and door knobs for interior and exterior doors, made a couple of skirts for myself and my girls, cleaned the kitchen cabinets with wood cleaner, expanded my cooking and baking skills, found new ways to include squash and zucchini in everyday meals without anyone noticing (I've done this quite a few times, and my family has been none the wiser!), and many other things that I didn't know I even had energy for. When I start something, I work all the way through until it's finished, if possible. Last night, I went to bed at 1:30am because I couldn't just cut the fabric for the footstool and leave it. I had to sew it and tack it to the stool with upholstery tacks. Then I had to iron the pleats of the skirt on it so it looked pretty before putting it in the room with the chairs and going to bed. I also did the same thing on Friday night finishing the first one. I went to bed at 3:30am the day I did the first chair cover. I know! I'm crazy! But I seriously can't leave it unfinished! When I start something, I just get too excited to see what the finished product is going to look like.

It's not all bad, though. My OCD doesn't always lead to sleepless nights and tired mornings. It transfers over to other aspects of my life as well. Some good for me, even. For instance, I couldn't go to sleep last night until I had read my scriptures. Yes, at 1:30 in the morning. I've been doing so well reading them every day lately, that I couldn't skip yesterday. You see, I didn't do it yesterday morning like I normally do, so I couldn't go to sleep without reading last night. So it happened at 1:30am. Also, when I start cleaning the kitchen, I don't stop until everything is put away and off the counters. Then they get a good wipe-down. Most of the time, I do stop short of sweeping and mopping the floors, though. But the counters and sink are always empty and clean. When I pick up the laundry from upstairs, I don't just pick up laundry, I pick up blankets and put them back on beds. Shoes go back in closets. Stuffed animals go back on beds or in cribs. Pacifiers go on the beds. Towels get hung back on hooks in the bathroom. Toys go back in the tub. And everything is done in a few minutes. It just makes me happy, I guess. I like everything organized. Even if I am a little OCD. It's not so bad, right?