Quirky Old Habits I'll Likely Never Break

I’m a creature of habit and routine. There are certain things that have to be a certain way or I’m all antsy and irritable. There are some things that I do without even thinking about it because for me it’s almost like breathing.

I can’t go to the movies without a hoodie or light jacket on hand, even during the summer months when it’s 100 degrees out. I’m the same way about restaurants unless we are already out and about and I don’t have one in the car and am absolutely forced to do so.

I will not eat alone in a restaurant. I'll get it to go and eat in my car before I do. I’ve only eaten alone in a restaurant once ever, and it was recently when my husband and I mixed our signals and he stood me up. I’d already ordered our drinks and sat there for half of my lunch hour before realizing it so I stayed to eat but it totally sucked!

I have to have a bottle of nose drops (nasal spray) next to the bed. I don’t use them daily but often wake up stuffy and need a squirt. I make sure they are sitting next to the bed every night, just in case. I also keep a bottle in my purse at all times and usually in the console of my car. My mother and sister are actually addicted and much worse than I am. When my sister and I were neighbors she often came down to use mine if she was out. Yes, we’ve actually shared those. Is that sisterly love or what?

I can’t sleep without the noise and circulation of a ceiling fan and preferably a loud one. If I'm ever in a situation without one it is a long and miserable night.

I can’t just lay my head down on the pillow and fall asleep. I either have to read, watch TV or mess around on the laptop until I can barely keep my eyes open. If I don’t have something to focus on then the sixteensisters in my head will remind me of all of the bills that need to be paid, home improvements needing to be done, blog entry ideas, whether I remembered to put the clothes in the dryer so they don’t mildew, whether I locked the doors (of course I would never forget that because it’s another thing I have to do before going to bed, but of course a sister will have me questioning whether I actually did it or not and then I’ll have to get back up to double check), etc. Get the picture?

I have to have sleep with three pillows and arrange & fluff them before I lay down.
I have one feather pillow that I guard with my life. I will pull it out from under my sleeping husband’s head if necessary. Hey, I’m gentle about it! He shouldn’t have been stupid enough to fall asleep with it knowing it’s my pillow.

I can't sleep in a messy bed. The sheets and comforter don't have to be prefect, but close. If they've been pulled more to one side or the other I just hate it! (unless it's my side that got more!)

The bedroom door needs to be “pulled to”. My words to the kids as they come in and out after I’ve already laid down. “Pull it to on your way out”. Before bed I put a piece of clothing or a small towel in the door way to keep it from shutting completely. I know that’s really weird! But if it’s shut all the way it’ll drive me nuts when my husband gets up for his middle of the night snack and if it’s just cracked and not shut I’m convinced I can still hear a kid in distress. Actually, I can’t hear much over the noise of our fans. In addition to the Fantastic Fan, we also use a small floor fan to block out noises like barking dogs, the sound of our oldest daughter’s music, her talking on the phone and the repeated opening and shutting of her door long after we’ve gone to bed.

I don’t like spending the night away from home. I will, but only when I have to and only at certain places. Anyone wonder why? Isn’t it obvious from all of the above?

I can’t go to bed without taking a bath or shower at least a few hours beforehand.

Here are my special habits that were initially developed as a result of my cockroach phobia that has been mentioned here many times before. We were clean people growing up, but the big ones would get inside from time to time. Everyone knows they like to come out at night, so some of the following were habits I developed when I was younger but have stayed with me until this day, even when we lived in California, where I never even saw a roach.

Since I was a teenager I’ve made a large glass of ice water every night before bed and sit it on my night stand. I started doing that so I wouldn’t have to get up in the middle of the night if I got thirsty and chance a roach encounter. When each of my kids was little they picked up my water next to the bed habit, too. Most nights I may not even drink but a sip or two and other nights it’ll be almost gone by morning, but it’s always there just in case I get thirsty. For a long time I used to put a wash cloth over the top of it to ensure nothing would fly or fall into it while I slept. I didn’t want to drink a floating mosquito, fly or even worse but I eventually broke that habit. The official name for that glass of water in our house is “Night Water”.

I always wear house shoes (slippers), flip flops or socks around the house. If I wake up to go potty at night I have a pair right next to the bed that I slip on. Yet another habit created from my fear of stepping on a roach in the dark. It used to be only a night time thing but then I developed a fetish about walking around barefoot in general and now I always have something on my feet if I am up and moving around, day or night. Okay, I might walk through the house barefoot on occasion, but 99% of the time I just don’t.

I hope this doesn’t make me sound part OCD/part high maintenance. I am in some ways, but for the most part my habits/routines don’t effect anyone else or require anything of them, so that’s not technically high maintenance is it? (The husband is not allowed to answer that question!)