Yesterday I cleaned the kitchen sink fifteen times. Fifteen pairs of rubber gloves pushed fifteen dual-textured sponges over gleaming chrome surfaces.
The fifteenth time, I needed two blue pills before stripping the plastic sleeve from the gloves.
Can’t clean taps without water.
Can’t get water without touching taps.
Today, this paradox freezes me in place. Rubber gloves remain in their packages, an accusing pile on the draining board.
My husband arrives home, gives me a posy of golden flowers. He sees the unused gloves, says, ‘No cleaning today! Well done!’
The sink is filthy.
I am ashamed.
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Awesome! It borders on being a poem.
You capture the Catch 22 of OCD succinctly here. A very sympathetic character. Hubby needs to wise up to what’s happening to his wife though he gets full marks for the flowers 🙂
Oh…I see shades of myself in that! Great showing of how that message got misinterpreted by her husband.
(He isn’t the one who was standing in the way while she chopped vegatables, is he?)
You have a way of writing with humor on the surface, but an underlying pain running below. Well done!
Wow! That was short, succinct, and very effective. I especially appreciate the clarity and terseness of your prose – it’s beautiful, in a dysfunctional and real way.
Wow.
‘Can’t clean taps without water.
Can’t get water without touching taps.’ are pretty much the greatest lines I’ve read all day. This made me smile, then cringe, then smile again.
I can totally relate! You did an amazing job of describing what it’s REALLY like.
~2
Dan wrote what I was thinking. This is a perfect depiction of the nightmare of people who suffer from OCD. Well done.
I actually read that the husband does get it – and he knows that nagging or dwelling is not the way to relieve the pain, but rather with flowers and quiet encouragement. Affecting.
It’s already been said – twice. Wow! You sure know how to pack in a lot in a little. Excellent piece of flash here.
~jon
You described perfectly most of the kids I work with. A very astute look at what it is like to live with OCD.
Hmm… I got an email saying there was a response to my comment, but my comment is nowhere to be seen. I’m confused. But not confused by your flash. It was terrific.
Very, very sharp. So much of a life captured in so little. The contrast at the end –
‘Well done!’
The sink is filthy.
I am ashamed.
This hurt to read. There is a lot of pain there. Very well done.
Really like this. Some great lines.