Obsessives

Daniel was invited over to his friend Danny's house for the afternoon yesterday. They played with Danny's magnetic darts, drank Yoohoo chocolate drink, and "listened to the Backstreet Boys," Daniel reported. Tab, who picked up Daniel, said that Danny was upset when it was time for Daniel to go. Danny told Daniel to hide in a closet so that he wouldn't have to leave.

Danny was an only child up until last month when his baby sister was born, and I think he often gets lonely. I told Daniel he should appreciate the fact that he has brothers close in age to him. Although Stephen and Matthew sometimes get on Daniel's nerves, at least he always has someone to play with.

My aunt Rita came over for dinner tonight. This has been a stressful year for her. First the long, sad months during which she nursed Nana and then Nana's death in August. Last month, Rita's best friend was diagnosed with cancer. Despite the things Rita has been through lately, she still has a bubbly personality. She gets along especially well with Stephen and Matthew, possessing as she does an almost child-like sense of fun.

After the boys went to bed, Rita and I drifted into a conversation about the streak of obsessive-compulsive disorder in the family. Funny, isn't it, how some mental aberrations seem to be passed down through the generations? I don't know much about OCD, but based on our family's experience, I believe it is hereditary. I have what I think is a mild form of OCD; others in the family, including Rita, as she freely admits, have more severe cases.

"It comes from my father," Rita commented.

"Really?" I said. Thinking it over, I realized she was right. My sisters and I have always known that the OCD comes from our father's side, but it doesn't appear at all among my grandmother's family.

"Yeah, my dad was always absorbed in one of his projects or another, to the exclusion of just about everything and everyone."

I suppose the ability to concentrate on one thing is not in itself a bad quality. Unfortunately, for OCD sufferers, that "one thing" takes over their lives, interfering with their ability to cope with everything else.

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