Dealing

We had a week of spring break during which Rachel and her brothers didn't have school, and then her youngest brother was very involved in a play, so we've been a bit busy around here. Rachel has definitely enjoyed the spring weather. When it's been warmer she has enjoyed wandering around the backyard and has liked seeing the flowers come up. We've had a lot of cold days also, however, which she hasn't liked as much. Snow in December is awesome. Snow in April, not so much. I definitely agree with her on that one.

I realized the other day that there are a few things we do in our house that may seem odd to someone else if they don't have the explanation that goes with them. In our main bathroom (the one that Rachel uses almost all the time) we don't put the toilet paper on the toilet paper holder, we just set it on the back of the toilet. When it is placed "properly" on the holder, it's so easy for it to go around and around that Rachel ends up with a lot more paper than she needs and she either tries to wind it back up, or she puts too much in the toilet, which can sometimes make a mess. We're not too lazy to put it where it goes, we're avoiding unpleasantness.

I don't ever put two hand towels in the bathroom, although there is room for them. Rachel always stands to the side of the towel bar instead of directly in front of it, then she pulls the towel toward her to dry her hands and face. For some unknown reason, if there are two towels she always wants to use the one the furthest away from her, so she has to pull even harder. Not only am I a little concerned that she's going to pull the thing off the wall, she usually ends up with both towels falling completely off the bar. The OCD part of her can't allow them to fall down, but she usually can't get them back up the way they are supposed to be, especially from the angle she is working from, so she stands in the bathroom trying to figure it out until I go fix it for her. I'm not sure what is "better" about the towel that is furthest from her, but it doesn't seem to matter what color it is, just that it's the hardest to reach. I've tried getting her to stand in front of it, but she won't do that, either.

If she's given the choice, Rachel will usually go into her bedroom when we have company, but she frequently listens to the conversation from her room. If anyone laughs, she will usually laugh too. Loudly. It sometimes sounds a little odd, and people who don't know her sometimes seem a little nervous about it (people who know her are delighted by it, and it usually makes them laugh again, which makes her laugh....). I guess if you've been reading Gothic romance/mysteries, and you don't know Rachel, it could be a little unnerving.

It seems that when I was thinking about this a couple of days ago I had more things in mind, but I don't seem to remember what they are now. I'm so used to the way things have developed around here, I don't notice that they're different from "normal," if there is such a thing as normal.

We tend to do things the way that works best for us. Everyone does. We all deal with something. I have a friend who has bottles of lotion all over her house because she obsessively washes her hands, so her hands get red and sore, even with all the lotion. My thought is, just don't wash your hands so much, but she can't seem to quit, so she uses lotion. It works for her. I love that we have the ability to find ways to deal with issues we face, so much so that I forget we even do them.