REFLECTIONS IN THE TIME OF CORONA….10. THE SECOND WAVE!

There was a long silence on my part as I was busy working on publication of my new book. (https://www.theabcsofislamism.com/)

Due to this people thought I had done away with OCD. Seriously? So, I’m compelled to write a new blog to prove OCD is alive and well (well almost)

This second wave is more challenging than the first because all the cleaning was done in the first wave. Now we look for new and interesting ways to attack each other. It reminds me of the movie Pink Panther where Inspector Clouseau’s man servant Cato Fong has been given carte blanche to surprise attack at any time. OCD is my Cato 😊

If you are OCD, you find things to do. Like some Canadian politicians, I ran away to Pakistan for two weeks in November. This was a much-needed break for OCD who decided to deep clean. This means that the superficial cleaning was all done so he found parts of the house that needed MORE cleaning. I got news every day from an elated and enthusiastic hubby that he found a couple (don’t know where he finds people) to come and clean the blinds, the cabinets (for the fifth time), the kitchen floors yada yada. Not that I was all that interested in the massive cleaning project but I tried to sound encouraging and supportive which is easy to do from a long distance.

If I hadn’t returned in time, the kitchen was going to be gutted and redone and architectural plans were being drawn out. It was only halted by my early arrive and surprise – I was here. I had to walk on tippy toes so as not to mess the impeccable state of our home. Unpacking was a nightmare because it had to be done right away and things stashed in the right place. There were new appliances (the old ones were perfectly fine but….) Things had been moved from their original place to other spaces and while I knew I had come home; it took a while to get used to the new look. I’m on notice and watched like a hawk every time I move. I confess that I am clumsy and tend to bump into things but the last time I bumped into a chair (in my defense, it had been moved from its original place) I got looks that could kill softened by the words “are you okay” which in OCD language means “watch where you’re going woman”!

The following Sunday he dragged me to the flea market to buy new table cloth covers, quilts, more household stuff and lockdown snacks (it will take another blog to describe the geographical source of the snacks and preparation involved including my having to make the containers moisture proof). While I tried to lose him in the crowd, he found the food court and excitedly came to tell me that he found the best kebabs. Apparently, a South Asian lady has a stall and sells food but also caters from home. He took her phone number and later that evening he called her. When he introduced himself she said “Oh you are the man who make friendly talk”….she got it! Friendly talk is OCD’s favorite pastime especially if ladies and food are on the menu. So, he “friendly talked” her into delivering food and since then when we see her, she refers to him as “your cute pati” (hubby).

What else to do? He refuses to play scrabble anymore since his last few defeats which he still insists were because a) I purposely misplaced some tiles and b) I use my phone to make big words. The cries for “recount” are louder than to the South of us.

The big discussion this time round is how to get the cleaning lady into the house now that we are in a lockdown. I mean I’m perfectly capable to cleaning a two-bedroom condo but try convincing OCD who rewashes the dishes each time I try to help out. And he complains that I don’t make the bed like she does or fold the toilet paper into a rose. (BTW she got him a gift with the words “you are special”) Obviously ten blogs written about Senor OCD does not make him feel special at all!  So why would I even try to clean the house as I’ll never live it down and my mother’s words will haunt me. She used to tell me “you can walk in a room and never see the dust”. Dust? What dust?

If any of know about OCD seminars taking place (apparently that’s a ‘thing’) preferably out of town, please let me know asap.