OCD

I don't often indulge the tics, flaws & quirks of my brain. Otherwise I would be left walking back and forth between my car and the kitchen to see if I turned my coffee pot off.

I am sharing this personal obsession because I have found a fellow traveler in my father. He came to a party at my house a few weeks ago and stayed overnight. The next morning during conversation he approached the microwave to reheat his coffee. I had to help him because every control panel is different.

"How much time?"

Pause. Deep thought.

"I usually put it in for 44 seconds," I suggested- knowing that my question had initiated a chain reaction of questions in his head. Do you set it at Hi or Medium? Is it a powerful microwave? Will it make the coffee mug too hot to handle? In my family questions just cause the brain to retreat into further indecision. "Or how about 33?"

Then we both had to admit that choosing a microwave time amount is a big choice. It has to be the right number or the day is bound to go wrong. 30 seconds or one minute are not times that portent a good day. My father & I shared our favorite numbers. I often go for the doubles- 22, 33, 44, but recently I have been picking odd numbers- 47, 49, 1:27.

It is a relief to know that I am not such a weirdo after all. Or is it just my family?