My whole California family is visiting, right now. My twin sister, her husband and my precious 15 year old niece! Their Here!
I love my twin sister. I mean, I REALLY DO LOVE MY TWIN!
She does have some OC issues going, though. Her biggest issue is feeling safe and secure at all times. (I have that one, too!) However, one of the ways she deals with and ensures this- for herself- is to check ALL of the doors at night, making SURE that they are locked and dead-bolted. She has been doing this for years and years! The ONLY trouble is AT MY HOUSE, when I cant seem to fall asleep, Ill go out and sit on my big front porch, from time to time. WELLthat little door checker then, just has to get back up and re-check the door that I have re-entered and again LOCKED, at my house! I said, Hey, if you have to, you have to.
Then, the other night she was particularly tired and she explained her dilemma and then asked ME NOT to touch MY doors again until morning! As I spoke empathically to her, accepting her concerns, I explained that I had the same concerns and I advised her that I do not leave doors unlocked. She then insisted that her rituals were always the same and suggested that I should just NOT bother the doors again until she was awake the next morning!(I believe that this is the point where the door issue became an inappropriate control-your-sister issue!)
I, then, calmly repeated what she had said and what that meant, for me. I understand her concerns around safety and security better than most people probably would! My sister would NOT budge! She even acknowledged just how unreasonable her dictate was and was becoming angry about that. Ultimately, I confronted her on my RIGHT TO FREEDOM of movement. Well, that went NO WHERE! She responded with, Hey! You are talking to a Pine tree, here! (Well, evidently I was!)
As I moved in a little closer, I explained to her that I had MOVED Pine trees BEFORE! It was then that my brother-in-law called my sister aside. And, in that moment with my shoulders square and my hands on my hips, with my chin jutted out, I felt like we were living out an old script from the Carol Burnett Show! I felt like Eunice! Well, my sister went on to bed without saying anything else. (One of those sure-fire ways to know that this AINT OVER, YET!)
The issue with the door hasnt yet been resolved. My twin has backed off considerably, though-for now.
It will be interesting to see how this goes!
Brenda
