Living with OCD

I have started this blog entry at least a dozen times, but it always seems as if I am whining so I delete it and close up my computer and move on. Most of you may know that I broke my foot two weeks ago. This change in Marissa's routine has pretty much made her come unglued. This is also Marissa's "growing season". (I call it that because she primary grows once a year and it is usually around her birthday). Growing season impacts her in every way from physically growing to emotionally growing. This year it looks as though her OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder) is getting worse and she is becoming less tolerable of outside influences. Lots of fun times.

So I thought, I would share some of Marissa's OCD with you and give you a little peak into our daily lives. Here are Marissa's top five obsessions:

1. When Marissa brushes her teeth at night, she has to wear a costume necklace. Her favorite is a yellow disco ball necklace. This is the only time that she will wear any type of jewelry.

2. Marissa is very particular about her clothes. Those that know her, know that her favorite color is yellow. For the past two weeks, she has wanted to wear something yellow everyday. Thank goodness, yellow is the color of the season. She also does not like jeans. She only wears jeans on Wednesday's because this is therapy day.

3. Each stuffed animal has its place. If its not in the right place, we have a slight melt down. She gets a new stuffed animal it has to take its place in the basket beside her bed and then can slowly work up to possible sleeping with her one day in the bed. Some animals have only gotten to the bed once and now have been banished back to the basket. (Kinda makes you think Toy Story is real- like what is going on in there).

4. Marissa's current obsession are the chuggers from Chuggington. Each chugger has a place. Currently, two are in the "training yard" and are not able to come in the bed. Yes, they sleep with her....in alphabetically order and they all have to look at her and be connected. On a rare occasion they have to be placed upside down, but still in alphabetical order.

5. Marissa is a game show junkie. She loves Family Feud, Wheel of Fortune, Lets Make and Deal and Deal or No Deal. While most children love cartoons, Marissa loves game shows. We have watched the same episode of Family Feud from 1979 at least a 100 times.

Well, I hope you at least got a little bit of a chuckle from this list. Some of her obsessions are so unreal that it is amazing Steve and I have not gone crazy. Living with OCD and Autism is like living in the movie "Fifty First Dates". We do the same thing every day at the same time. No changes, no modifications. This is the way we live our life and its what make Marissa a little more unique then she already is.