Oh Crazy Days

Oh Crazy Days...

Have you ever had to deal with someone with OCD?
I'm not talking about your mom that has to have everything placed on the shelf just so or she's not happy. And I am not talking about your sister who has to fold the towels a certain way or it bugs her. Sure, there are probably plenty of people in your life who have OCD-like tendencies. That is not true OCD though.

I am talking about real OCD. The kind where someone simply cannot move on to anything else until they have what they are currently involved with exactly the way they feel it needs to be. The kind that prevents them from thinking of anything else. The kind that results in complete and total breakdown if the person is not able to get whatever they are obsessing over "right."

We deal with it. Every day! Some days, like today, are worse than others.

Days like today involve Meechi in hysterical tears outside the school because he needed to turn in his field trip form. Never mind the fact that it did not really need to be turned in today. They sent it home last week, and for some reason Miss Barbie sent another one home today with anyone who had not turned it in yet. The field trip is over two weeks away. This second form was too much for Meechi and his OCD to deal with. He was convinced that because this was a "2nd notice" that it needed to be taken care of right now. In his mind there was nothing more important than getting this form signed and turned in right away. Nothing could distract him and nothing could stop the panic and tears that had engulfed him except filling out the form and turning it in right then.

Then there is the obsession with getting everything just right when writing and drawing. If a picture he is drawing does not turn out exactly like he expected it to look then he gets so upset that he cries. This isn't temper tantrum behavior. This is pure and genuine anguish over not having done something perfectly. It is the same way if he tries to write a word or letter and makes the tiniest mistake. He cannot simply fix the problem and move on. Instead he has to start completely over. (we go through a lot of paper around here) I enjoy drawing with Meechi and I am glad that he has finally discovered a love for this type of thing, but I have to admit that the OCD can squeeze some of the fun out of it. I am trying my best to convince him that art does not have to be perfect and when that doesn't work I try to find ways to get creative with his mistakes and turn them into a fun new element on the page. It works occasionally, but not the majority of the time.

There are times when the OCD slows us down. Like the other day trying to leave a store and he was desperately trying not to step on any cracks on a sidewalk that was made up of a bajillion little squares. (thanks so freaking much to whoever taught him the "step on a crack break your mothers back" thing!!!) I could have scooped him up and carried him to the van, but he would have very likely been in meltdown mode the entire ride home and sometimes you just have to avoid the battle.

Some days I can look at Meechi's OCD behaviors and think, "it's just another Meechi quirk. Life is not boring." and other days it makes me want to hide in a dark room rocking back and forth, mumbling to myself. Today is one of those Oh Crazy Days!!!