We all go a little mad sometimes...

I have a confession to make. I suffer from...an addiction. I am addicted to cleanliness and order.

At some point in my life I crossed the line into madness. I find I cannot relax if something is out of place in my apartment. I have had it pointed out by a friend that the food in my fridge and pantry is all aligned and forward facing. Oh, and my yogurt is arranged on the shelf by expiration date. It's not weird; it just makes good sense.

The other night I decided at around 7 pm that I should "straighten up" my kitchen. I pulled the oven apart and scoured the oven racks, the burner rims and spill bowls in the sink and doused the interior of the oven with Easy-Off. I scrubbed the cabinet faces down. I rearranged my baking dishes and relined the bin they are kept in under the stove. I scrubbed the floor on my hands and knees. I did this for about four hours.

Then my puppy, Saffron, went in the kitchen to get a drink from her gleaming bowl. She gulped, gulped and gulped down some more. She began to walk away from the bowl and proceeded to drool all over the floor. And I mean drool.

I quietly winced and tried to accept the fact that life is messy. Sometimes, no matter how hard you try not to, you have to let a little drool in.