Confessions of a Neat-Freak

Ahhhh, the sweet consolation of things put in order.  I realize that not everyone is a fan of order and some just may not know how to attain order much less maintain it.  For me, order is part of my DNA...I crave it and I thrive in it.  I have been told that this is indicative of a deep, dark,  hidden issue and that I organize and straighten to compensate for those things over which I have no control.  And to this I say, "WHAT????!!!!"  I don't think that I need to tell you that the people who have said this to me were chronically messy, perhaps even terminally so.  Now this is not a criticism of messies or adulation for neat freaks, but rather a confession that I find difficult circumstances easier to endure when my little world is in order.  Of great comfort to me is the fact that I am married to a man who is just like me in this arena.  In fact, he is worse, and I say this with great respect and admiration.  His sock drawer is color-coded as are the clothes in his closet and once, I caught him alphabetizing the spice cabinet.  I pointed out to him that alphabetizing spices might border on some sort of neurosis, but he did not think so.  

The only problem with these OCD (actually it should be CDO....in alphabetical order, the way God intended it) tendencies is that my friends who are gifted in messiness do not like to have me over unless their homes are clean.  This is crazy because I don't care how messy your house is...I don't have to live in it.  And I would certainly never criticize you for it.   I'm a live-and-let-live kinda girl.  You be messy, I'll be organized and the world will continue to spin on it's axis.  Spinning and spinning, making complete rotations every twenty-four hours, while revolving in an orderly orbit around the sun........

So which are you?