It's all adding up

Happy Thanksgiving 2013...a few days late.  We just had our celebration tonight at our home with Q's family.  It was so fun, I wish it didn't have to end.  We didn't celebrate Thanksgiving on the traditional day because it was my birthday and I wanted the day for ME...the bigger turkey.  Selfish?  Yes!  Rarely do I get the chance to think about me and nobody else. 

On the way home Thursday afternoon, I was thinking about my cookie orders, my goodie platters that I will soon be putting together, my work schedule, my days off...and that jumped over to how many miles from this point to home, how many stop signs I will have to encounter, etc., etc., etc. 

And it really did jump around just like that.

Isn't it funny how much "numbers" get in the way of life?  I have X amount of days to get X amount of cookies done.  I need to get X amount of platters still.  I have to plan a route of delivery of X amount of miles in X amount of days.  And that delivery is in X amount of days from now. 

I have X amount of days off until this X date.  I have X amount of hours in a day before having to get ready for work.  I have X amount of time to get my stuff from the store/convenience store on my way to work.  I have X amount of miles to drive so I should reach destination in X amount of time.  I have X amount of stop signs if I go one way and X amount of stop signs if I go another way. 

I can't make this stuff up folks.  It really does happen this way. 

I need X amount of sugar to get me through winter.  I need X amount of flour to get me through the baking season.  I have X amount of money to spend on ingredients for X amount of activities that we have in mind (like Thanksgiving & baking for starters).  I have X amount of time to spend with people.  I have X amount of time to exercise.  I have X amount of time to clean my house.  I have X amount of time to cook. 

I wake up in the middle of the night sometimes JUST to see what time it is.  Yes, JUST for that!!  It is usually only when I have to get up early for work.  Because I don't want to get up early for anything anymore.  I do it and I am a good sport about it.  I just don't want to do it.  This is not news to anybody that knows me even a little bit.

So, knowing I have to get up at 6:30am, I will wake up at 3:27am and automatically count how many hours and minutes I have until I HAVE to get up and get going.  BUT, I don't stop there.  I then SUBTRACT however many minutes I figure it will take me to get back to sleep!  Ughhhh!!!  Am I the ONLY ONE on earth that does this stupid stuff???

I am also a counter.  Sometimes really bad about it.  I mentally reprimand myself a lot of the time to NOT count.  As a passenger in a car, I have kept track of how many vehicles have passed us, how many we have passed.  When that wasn't enough, I would keep track of the cars, the pickups, the semi's.  Then it went to the colors.  Ughhhh!  Somebody stop me!!  Now you know why I mentally reprimand myself. 

I'm pretty sure I've told the story of my dad wanting me to "shut up for a while" so he told me to count the yellow dashes on the way home from Grandma and Grandpa Lock's house.  You know the ones I'm talking about.  The passing zone dashes.  And if you knew my dad at all, you knew he drove fast.  Very, very fast.  When we got back to Bedford, he asked me how many dashes I counted.  I just said "one," because when you're going 70-90 mph, all those lines seem to run into each other.  And I truly think that is why I am a counter to this day.  *sigh*  I guess it's better than being addicted to drugs or alcohol, right? 

Have you ever been so bored...or had such a "slow" day at work, that you count the minutes?  I mean literally count the minutes??  Yeah, I hate those days. 

So it should be no surprise that I am a little bit crazy.  Who else does this stuff constantly in their head?  Come on, raise your hand!  I think I'll start a group.  Kinda like Alcoholics Anonymous but I think I will call mine "Three, two, one, none." 

Short and sweet.  Just had to get it off my mind.  Hope you at least smiled and weren't too bored.  Until next time...and that won't be long because I have stuff to say.  Lots and lots of stuff to say...thanks for reading!