I think this all started when I used to drive for a living and started counting white lines on the highway and the wheels on 18 wheelers. But I think there may be a certain amount of O.C.D. (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) going on here too. I think we all have a little bit of that, don't you?
I have always counted my steps when walking past houses and buildings, sometimes trying to guess in advance to see if I am correct. I frequently am.
When I do a menial task like cutting up a carrot, chopping wood or fork-splitting an English muffin, I count each action without even knowing I am doing it. And sometimes I just count - almost like a soothing song in my head. But I am in good company there - surely you have all heard the refrain from the Beatles song "You Never Give me your Money"?
And now my job even involves counting - how great is that? It's like getting paid for humming. (By the way I am also told that I hum while I eat.) I don't have to count at work but some of my tasks are repetitive and it just helps pass the time. But why do I know that the urinal at work has 17 holes and the sink drain has only 9? I have counted holes in ceiling tiles, coins in my pocket... and I just looked out the window and counted the rungs on my ladder - 10. A nice even number and somehow satisfying.
So now you know about my counting fixation. Please don't feel sorry for me or think I am some sort of freak - it is just as natural to me as breathing in and breathing out. Well, I guess it is time for me to go count the socks in my sock drawer - just kidding... or am I?
By the way, there are 412 words in this blog - go ahead and check if you want to. And there are only 103 more days until Christmas - but who's counting?
