Don't lie in bed if you can't sleep

It’s not rational to compartmentalize the boxes in your life as you are trying to go to sleep. This of course leads you to go get up and probably turn on the TV, which unfortunately keeps you awake even longer. You hope the distraction keeps you from turning the generator back on in your brain, but by that time it’s pointless.

As far back as I can remember, I have been mentally organized and treated time management as a skill. It’s rare that I make a trip in the house without holding something meant to go somewhere else, and the same thing on the trip back. As I mentioned a moment ago, this all started from the time I could walk. My mother used to tell the story of my first project, the refrigerator. What makes this story odd was that not only was I only a toddler, but apparently I did the task in the middle of the night, while everyone else was nestled away in bed. We've now established that the sleeping issues started early. I didn’t exactly organize the entire fridge, considering I was only 22 inches tall, but I successfully moved product around the bottom shelves. Since my memory doesn’t stretch that far back, I’m just going to assume from my neuroses that I placed the most prominent items front and center. And the reward for my hard work, and also the most obvious clue that I had been in the fridge, was the tiny bite I would take out of the block of cheddar cheese. I still love cheese, but now it’s much easier with the pre-packaged stuff.

I would like to say that it stopped there, but my compulsive behavior only grew, as I got older. By the age of four, my room was always spotless with my Underoos folded neatly in my dresser and my shoes lined up in military fashion. When I entered my adolescent years, out of rebellion, I made a concerted effort to be messy. But that ended the moment I couldn’t find anything. There’s only so much I can do in my own room, so yes I actually used to clean my brother’s room. Yes, you read that correctly. I actually cleaned my brother’s room. It was the 80s, and he had a heavy metal motif going on, so I always thought it was cool to hang out in there. And let’s face it, that’s the only time your older brother would allow you inside his room anyways, and usually I cleaned when he wasn’t there. Then there were the parties at the house when my mom was away visiting the grandparents, and she always new something was up when the house was cleaner than when she left. And now my wife is the recipient of the spoils. She calls our laundry hamper the magic basket. She put dirty clothes in and they always end up clean and folded in her closet.

So what’s the point of all of this? There’s no point in lying in bed when you can’t sleep. I think for years I looked at my anal behavior as a nuisance to others and a character flaw to all, except R. Lee Ermey. In case you are wondering about that obscure reference, he's played countless iconic drill sergeants in movies. You know who I'm talking about. But I digress. When I’m on a cleaning bender it’s my place of solace. It’s the one time I’m able to shut everything else out and focus on the task at hand, and oddly at the same time give everything else in my life my mental attention. And this has permeated into everything I do in my life. If someone makes a comment, I immediately have a one liner ready to discharge. I can’t go on errands with out making a mental map of my route, so that I’m more efficient. You would think I work for UPS. Since I’ve been unemployed, paying bills becomes a game of Jenga. I honestly feel like a one-man assembly line at Amazon at times. It may have taken me longer than some to realize the small idiosyncrasies that make me a little unique, but it is important to notice them. Figure out what it is that makes you special. Sure, there are 7.6 billion people in the world, so there is bound to be someone out there with your same special gifts, but chances are they’re not part of your inner or outer circles. Embrace that which makes you unique. When you’re aware of your strengths and weaknesses it can be a blueprint to inspiration and inspiring others. Let me reiterate that I'm not a beacon of success, at least from a social status or financial tier, but success is not universally measured the same. Now I am trying to instill cleanliness in my kids, or wife for that matter, reminding myself that I may be built just a little bit differently. And that’s ok. I know why I married, and it wasn’t for her prowess with cleaning products. My daughter showed early signs of being a lost cause, but recently likes to be a part of the process. So this makes me hopeful. My son’s young, so his idea of organizing is making sure toys completely cover the floor. And if they don’t get the clean gene from me, I know they have special gifts that I certainly don’t have. I just hope they recognize it early as a blessing and use it in their arsenal of gifts to the world. Because there’s no point in lying in bed when you can't sleep.

#perspective