Avoidance

It's always so much easier to notice an issue if I see it in someone else. So recently I viewed a marathon of hoarders and animal hoarders on Netflix and found myself getting increasingly frustrated by the selfishness of the hoarders, their avoidance of the issues... and having to remind myself that is part of the illness. It took some more episodes but I began to compare my mental health (and other issues in my life) bluntly with selfishness and avoidance and discovered some horrifyingly embarrassing and worrisome similarities.

I give myself some credit for knowing that I have these issues. That is always the first step, right?! But then resolving problems requires action. I would imagine these issues would not be such big issues if taking the actions needed to resolve them were simple or in my nature to do. Nevertheless it is a sobering realization when I look at the truth that my poor choices and inability to actually take the steps toward healing impacts the people around me- especially my kids.



Its easy to say I am going to take steps. Easy even to intend to. But, just like in the show, even when the people know that professional organizer is coming you can always see a moment of shock and horror on their faces when the process actually begins. More than once I even heard one of them say they had not actually thought they would have to do it... they'd thought it was just for the camera.

So why does there seem to be such a huge chasm between the decision/knowledge that an action needs to take place and the actual performance of said action?

And how does a person know which issue to tackle first? Goodness knows I have plenty to choose between. Then, how does a person get the change to stick? I have heard and read in some places that performing something at least once a day for thirty days will form a habit, but elsewhere I have read 107 days. Most days I just get so frustrated or overwhelmed I avoid dealing with any of it.

Small steps. Baby steps. It reminds me of that movie 'What About Bob' (great show if you haven't seen it!) and yet again, it sounds so very easy... but why are those baby steps so very difficult to take?

Tooth Fairy

At some point my younger sister told her kids that I was the tooth fairy and I played along. Naturally (because I was involved) this has evolved into a seriously exciting event each time one of her four hooligans loses a tooth.

They've had me describe my fairy outfit for them because I told them pink spandex and sparkles are vital to the important job of sneaking around a house. And the tutu? Well that's just because I'm a girl of course. But I have special sparkly fairy dust for if they happen to waken (to make them forget) and a pink sparkly wand with a giant gleaming tooth at the end.

Today my nephew lost a tooth and was told he better call his Auntie to make sure my tooth alert machine was working properly. He was also deeply concerned about making sure I knew which room he was sleeping in now and that the new puppy likes to sleep with him so I should bring treats for her. There has been much speculation on his and his sister's minds about what I do with the teeth I gather. Of course I told him I make myself lovely necklaces and like to jiggle them around in my hand because they make a cool noise but quite frankly, I was still half asleep and couldn't come up with very many ideas! Lucky for me, they had some. They felt I should sell them to dentists so they could make dentures and that would mean I could pay the tooth losers more money. Smart kids there. They obviously take after their Auntie.