Quirky is as Quirky does

Before my days of Mommyhood, I was told that when that day arrived, I was going to have to let go of some things. I would not be able to stay on top of everyone's birthday, much less plan everyone's parties, and I would not be able to keep my house as clean as I would like.

And my friends like to give me a hard time, because my house, after two children, is still "clean." It does no good to argue with them, as they are convinced my house is "clean."

I disagree heartily with them because, you see, before I had children, I mopped my floors every Saturday. Since I had my first child, my floors get mopped about every 6 months. The bathrooms get cleaned every other week if they're lucky.

My house is not "clean."

My house is, however, very neat.

Yes, I confess, I am a neat freak.

My obsession, you see, is order. Not necessarily cleanliness (although that is just the icing on the cake for me).

Order is my quirk.

or·der [awr-der] –noun a condition in which each thing is properly disposed with reference to other things and to its purpose; methodical or harmonious arrangement: You must try to give order to your life.

And that, my friends, is the definition of Mama. Trying to give order to [her] life.

I'm not quite sure if this is a temperament thing, or if my parents totally screwed me up as a child and this is the result. But I HAVE TO have order or I am a complete basket case.

A while back we had a little shindig at our house with several couples and their respective broods. When the evening was over, the little children scampered around, "cleaning up", and then their parents watched me go behind and organize the toys behind them. When they left, I was literally sitting on the floor in front of the toy box, organizing the toys. Because everything has its place, you know.

And I will be so brave as to tell you that I do this several times a day, but at least twice. At nap time and bed time. I cannot sit or sleep with toys scattered around the playroom, much less the rest of the house.

I confided in a friend one day that the sheep was missing from the Little People farm, and it was driving me crazy. Did we lose it? Did someone steal it? Who would do such a thing? Don't they know that the rest of the farm animals need that poor sheep? My friend, God bless her, just giggled and said, "Really??" (That sheep did turn up again, so you can all breathe a huge sigh of relief on that one.)

I tell you all this so that you can get a clear picture of the agony I've been going through the past few days since THREE toys have gone missing! I mean....can you imagine?

Oddly enough, two of the missing parts are from Little People sets. That right there tells me there's something afoot.

She's been missing since Christmas morning and goes by the name "Tiana." May be traveling with a "Prince Naveen." If you see either of these individuals, please contact Mama immediately.

The angel went missing on Christmas evening. The shepherds are still out in the fields waiting on [her] to appear.

The little yellow life ring went missing the day after Christmas. Sarah Lynn won't get into the water without it.

So being the nutcase that I am, I spent the day looking for these items and making phone calls in an attempt to track them down. 'Cause they're somewhere, people. And I'm not gonna rest until I find them. Literally.

So there it is. That's my quirk. There are many others, but that is probably the most profound.

I love talking about quirks, because it seems like everyone has one. Well mostly everyone. I do have one friend who really couldn't come up with anything any of the rest of us would confirm to be a bonafide quirk. Maybe her quirk is being normal. Which is really abnormal. Hence, the quirk.

My friend, Tara, has a 45-minute bedtime routine, which includes flossing twice.

My friend, Julie, won't let you dry your hands on paper towels at her house. You have to use a kitchen towel. Because using the paper towels is wasteful.

My friend, Jodie, traces words onto her sheets with her fingers while she's in bed.  Not sure if she does this when dozing off or waking up, but that's pretty quirky -- wouldn't you say?  And the most bizarre thing about that is that I do that, too.  I mean...what are the odds of THAT???

I love to find out about people's quirks.  It just really gives you a glimpse into who they really are.  Because it's a little weird, it's not something they share with everyone.  A true friend knows their friends' quirks.

Will you share yours with me?