According to Isaac Newton (I call him Mr. Gravity), there are three laws of motion. Two of them — inertia and acceleration — are irrelevant here. The third one, however, is driving me to distraction. It’s the one that says for every action there’s an equal and opposite reaction. Forces, you see, come in pairs. Pushing on an object causes that object to push back using the exact same force, but in the opposite direction.
And that’s precisely what’s happening inside my head.
These chaotic, out of control times are forcing me to become even more compulsive. Even more obsessed. And I’m not kidding. The more things fall apart, the tighter my hold on order and symmetry. I’ll now settle for nothing short of rigid organization in my surroundings.
Yesterday, for example, I spent the entire afternoon tracking down every stray dog hair in the place. They’ve become my new, number one enemy. I turned the place upside down and inside out. I vacuumed and vacuumed and vacuumed some more. Then I cleaned the vacuum, including the canister, removing all traces of dust and hairs until it gleamed. Still not satisfied, though, I lint rolled and laundered. I dusted. I polished. I glared at the dog every time she moved. Completely unnerved by the neurotic behavior, she finally sought refuge under the bed.
Today, I’m preparing for Round 2. Tomorrow will be Round 3. And so on and so on into infinity. It’s exhausting, of course, and futile, a battle I can’t possibly win. Brushing her only seems to stimulate the growth of more and thicker hair. I could shave the dog, I suppose. Or bag her, cutting holes for her head and legs. Ooh, how about Saran Wrap? Or a nice coat of varnish?
Okay. See why I never had kids? Happy Mother’s Day, all!
copyright © 2020 the whirly girl
the whirly girl 
14 responses to “: the third law of motion :”
I think we’re all running on empty at the moment – it’s like waiting for a storm to burst. The UK government’s slogan is ‘Stay Alert’ which is a bit unfair for all us mild obsessives! Humour (OK, dammit, humor!) is a solace and I always enjoy your way with it …
LikeLike
The storm’s burst here and, yikes!, it’s still going full tilt. It’s heartbreaking to see the smoking crater America has become. I hope we can hold on until November and then make a sweeping change in the way the government operates — or doesn’t as is the case now. Oy 💔
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hope the wrong side doesn’t draw political strength from a bad situation – fingers crossed, good luck! :)
LikeLiked by 1 person
Mr. Trump is unraveling awfully quickly and Republicans do nothing to mitigate the damage or protect us from his lunacy. So only the MAGA crowd is happy. And Putin, of course. Still, there’s always that danger 😬
LikeLiked by 1 person
Your cogent analysis indicates that, notwithstanding all the volatility, sound and humane values will reassert themselves. I do hope so. Long term, the whole world looks to the US to take a lead.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Stick with us, Dave. We won’t let you down. Again. Hopefully :o\
LikeLiked by 1 person
Trying to hold on to a rigid and organised existence is a manifestation of the uncertain times we are going through.But then we all want to hold on to some sliver of hope while free falling.You may have peeved over dog hair and i may be worried about not having started the day with staple acts.This is symptomatic of our times.Symptomatic – the very word spooks the hell outta people these days. Nice read.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, we’ll just have to power through the best way we know how. Good luck to us all 🙃
LikeLike
Sounds exhausting. My compulsive behavior causes me to wipe the kitchen countertops and then rearrange every item on it and then artfully arrange the fruit in the bowl… it goes on & on until I realize I could be doing this on the canvas at an easel, since this is also my creative process: redoing redoing redoing
I do the same at my desk: rearranging stapler, tape dispenser, paperclip holder… it never ends. The weirdest part is that I see myself doing it. I realize I’m crazy. But it just really feels good to do it. I think it helps clean up the clutter in my brain. Or settle it down from all the frightening information I read & see on the media 😱
LikeLiked by 1 person
isn’t this nuts? life has turned me into a pinball, careening between compulsions. my schedule is out of whack — absolutely nothing is as it should be. walking the dog is as close to normal as i can get, but it isn’t the relief it used to be. it’s more of a chore now. let’s keep our fingers crossed and our heads down and keep moving forward. one day, this will be behind us 🤞
LikeLiked by 1 person
I don’t have a dog or a kid but I could sure use some of that obsessive compulsive cleaning thing. I did the initial lock down disinfect every square inch obligatory clean but since then I don’t really care anymore. No one here to see it and apparently He-Who hasn’t even noticed.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Trust me, you don’t want this, it’s exhausting. You’re on hyper alert 24 / 7, tracking down dust motes and misaligned forks or crooked pictures. It’s endless. I think I’ll buy some blinders 🙁
LikeLiked by 1 person
🤣 Well, at least it will keep you fit!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ooh, yay❣️ I like calling it fitness. I wasn’t sure how to explain the bruises and scabs and limping, exercising sounds less klutzy than running into a door jamb … or dropping the canister on my bare foot … or 🤦🏻♀️
LikeLike