Do you ever have a realization about yourself? A realization that you're certain says something much deeper about you...you just don't know what? Okay, that makes this whole thing sound much bigger than it really is.I've realized (and I already knew it, it just hadn't really hit me) that I am a sorter. I sort things. I sort the art supplies that go in the trays on S's easel. Crayons, classic colored markers, bold colored markers, coloring pencils. I have to stop myself from looking over her shoulder and demanding that she sort them properly. I suppose I've always been this way. I can't remember a time when I wasn't. I suppose I should've realized that this was a huge part of me when I got excited about a project I had to do in Biogeography class. Our professor gave us each a huge ziploc bag full of various candies, and we had to create a classification system. I created a system based on shape mostly because I was pretty engrossed in the geomorphometry class I was taking at the time. Either way, I loved it. I was totally obsessed with the project.
My big "I am a sorter" moment came last night when I realized that every time I sit to play blocks with S, I immediately start to sort them. In the case of the princess blocks, I sort by color first, then shape. For her wooden blocks, it's just shape...obviously. When I play with her Noah's Ark, I sort the animals into pairs before I do anything else. When we dump all the crayons out, I sort them according to the color spectrum. Get it? I SORT THINGS. I am some sort of freak, I am sure of it.
The thing is, I know that not everyone is like this. M doesn't sort the blocks. He plays with the blocks.
So, here's the million dollar question: do you sort things? I am realizing that I see almost everything that I encounter as something to be sorted. How do you see things??? Am I all alone in my sorting hysteria? Does anyone else realize that I sound like a total fruit loop and that I should be thanking the heavens for sending me a husband that puts up with this mess?
8 comments:
yes i sort. i call it organizing though. but do the same damn thing. T finds it a little neurotic. K organizes too but we can't figure out "did it come by nurture or nature?" his therapist seemed to really hone in on it... which made me feel weird.
I wouldn't say you sound like a TOTAL fruit loop, just a nice gal with strong loop-tendencies. It's really not surprising though - look at how immaculate and beautiful your house is... you can't have a house that clean and not exhibit other OCD tendencies :)
I sort when I'm specifically organizing, but not just while going through the day. But again - that would be obvious if you saw my house!
I often wish that you could combine your strengths and weaknesses with your friends - so you could come sort my house and I could come do something for you that I'm talented at!
Gosh, I do so love sorting. I don't know that I'm as compulsive about it as you paint yourself to be...then again, there was that time you caught me sorting S's green beans on your kitchen counter...so maybe I am as compulsive as you are.
I have sorted the Papoose's crayons repeatedly in one sitting as she seems to "thrive on chaos" as the Husband puts it. I think it's just the classic toddler love of dumping and knocking over and mixing up. But it could be a strong Husband streak.
The Papoose has seemed to have her own ideas of sorting, even before she could sit up. We rarely (never?) see the pattern, but I swear the girl is so deliberate with her arrangement of things sometimes that you know she has some secret agenda. I actually fear she's growing out of that habit. It will be missed.
See, sorting's endearing. Someone will buy that, right?
I am the EXACT same way. I actually find it relaxing!
You are not a crazy sorter until you sit at a lunch table and sort your trail mix. I worked with a girl who did this every day. And after she sorted her raisins, peanuts, dates,banana chips, and sunflower seeds she had to eat them in a particular order (raisins wedged between the peanuts like a sandwich, one date, one banana chip, and leave all the sunflower seeds). If you sat at the table and ate your trail mix by the handful, it literally made her squirm. So sort your stuff as much as you like. I don't think I really sort much until it's so messy and then it needs to be sorted.
Speaking of Fruit Loops, if you're eating a bowl of Fruit Loops, do you try to sort them in the bowl? Kinda hard to do when they're floating.
I recently realized that I need to touch things. I'm that person who can't walk down a long hall without running my hand along the wall. I can't walk by clothes in a store without touching them. So while your habit keeps things neat, mine probably makes a mess. Go figure.
OCD, it's easy as 1-2-3!
I sort my clothes by piece and color spectrum. I just spent an hour organizing my different classes by subject and novel--it's the only way I can keep any sort of order. I also eat my M&Ms in order: I'll take out a handful and eat them in this order: Brown, blue (because it's not an original color), orange, red, yellow, green.
So yeah, I'm with ya.
Post a Comment