Wystful 1's Humorous Pet Peeve. 3/18/2001 It all started 'bout 30 years ago, after I noticed one late afternoon... my husband was at the laundry pile going through the folded clothes finding his personal items. Well, as I grabbed a few clothes to take to my son's room...outta the corner of my eye, there he was........dear hubby was tearing up my fold job and redoing it to HIS satisfaction!!! Ahhhhhh, I remember it well. The conversation went like this upon my return--- "You don't like the way I fold clothes?" "Nah, that's not it. They just fit better in the drawer the way I fold 'em." I'm thinking *what's the difference here?* *He doesn't care for my folding*. Well, I let it go to avoid arguing. Ya know? Men have this capacity of knowledge that would astound a genius!! Hubbies think this way-----"There's a right way, and a wrong way. Then, there's my way!" Few days pass and I realize after watching him more closely... the man is an obsessive compulsive! When we were young and married just a few short years...his work required him to leave the house at 5:00 a.m. Well, in order not to wake the family, he did his preparing for work BEFORE he went to bed. That way, at 3:30-4:00 a.m., he wouldn't be rumaging around in the dark, getting clothes, making breakfast etc. etc. In turn, waking the entire household. Yep, a compulsive has routine!! Now with my husband, it went like this: Pull out the coffee maker...put exactly 3 heaping scoops of coffee into the filter. Measure water...pour. Set the timer...adjust the angle and position of coffeemaker on the countertop. Being that that is done, he moves on...... lay a placemat on the table at his end of the table...smooth the wrinkles out. Go back to the drawer, get a napkin, then eating utensils, position them on the placemat at exact margins. Go back to the cupboard and choose a favorite coffee cup...... place it next to the coffee maker...then, once again, check to make sure there is water in the coffee maker. (Oh I'm serious on this!!) Now, we go to the preparing of clothes..... He wore a uniform so, it had to be just right too. But, we'll ignore that part, this just gets better and better. Walking through the house, into the bedroom to his closet. Once he gets there, it's like he has an extended wardrobe for work, and he must choose accordingly to his mood for the day. Hey, get real!! They're all alike!!! Why thumb through them for choice? Just pick one!! Well, he doesn't (and this is each day.....a routine) Once he chose a shirt, he'd take it to the bathroom. I had a small hook for him behind the door for his clothes. Then, he'd return to the bedroom closet, and pick out a pair of slacks! Same thing.....they're uniforms. But, he slides them back and forth, chosing. Good Grief. Now, shoes. Oh lord. Get set, here we go!! They had to be spit shined!!!!!! I'll save that routine for later. But believe you me, it's a dinger of a tale. Then, his socks......now here's where the weirdness comes in.......LOL (ya, right, like the above parts aren't weird, I know, I know). He gets to the dresser drawer and pulls out a pair of socks (oh yes, they've been refolded to fit the area better). Now the socks too are uniform color so, no "should I wear black or brown?...They're black. Just pick a pair out and get on with your life!! Okay, I forgot to mention his placement of his shoes. Well, his shoes must be parallel to the wall! Then, his socks must be placed neatly on top of the shoes!!!!! If anyone realigns them.......they hear about it. Oh yes, and he prefers to make his own lunch at this stage in our marriage. So there's a routine there too. Well, the thing is...his behavior is obssessive. And I being young and foolish, thought: "Well now, I can fix his abnormalities".....yes, I thought his routine was weird. Hey, I was only 20......going on 45. So here's what I did once: I purposely got up during the night and did some of my own routine!!!!! I put his car keys in a different pant's pocket. I untied his tie. I readjusted the one shoe so it was at an angle that was just NOT correct!! And I tied his socks in a knot. Then off to the kitchen I went. First, I snuck in the refigerator for his bagged lunch.....yes, he had it bagged already so all he had to do before he walked out the door in the dark, was just grab the lunch! Well, I didn't do too much .... I just put his napkin in his sandwich bag, along with the sandwich. Then, to the coffee pot I ventured. I folded the filter so some of the "grounds" of coffee would end up in his morning java. Oh, and I sprinkled in a very little bit of black pepper for added zip....slid the coffee maker back in its corner, and left it there. Then, I put the utensils ON the plate....instead of on the proper side of the plate. And off to bed I went, he was snoring so, I wasn't detected in my "dirty work". Well, that afternoon, when he got home he was jovial, but purposely hiding his anger. I know. But, it worked!!! And, maybe a bit too good. He no longer has those crazy habits. Well, maybe a little bit. And I have to say, I've picked up a few "Monicas" (watchers of the TV program of "Friends" will know what I'm talking about), which we dearly call our compulsive behaviors now, and jokingly. But, at least the breaking of his routine showed him what that kind of behavior does to a person's system sometime (and wasting precious life on this kind of behavior on minutes that add to hours of a beautiful lifetime on menial things such as sock order), and how it affects others...not that that is important, but you get my drift, right? Oh, and I might add this, when we both (married over 30 years to each other) spot compulsive behavior in one another, we go searching for the black pepper!!! There's my pet peeve, people with compulsive disorders...at least ones I LIVE with. The tube for this set was found at Kandy's PSP Tubes This set is the exclusive property of RAOK.