THE AGONY OF OCD

My sister won't turn on the faucet because she can't turn it off. She jiggles the doorknob a hundred times and still is not convinced it's locked. Mail, newspapers, old magazines, paper bags and cartons are piled on every table. She has great difficulty throwing anything away. It involves holding the item by its edge away from her body and slowly dropping it into the wastebasket while holding her breath for fear of contracting germs that fly up from the wastebasket. She didn't ask for this disorder. She also has never sought help for it. Going to meetings of "Clutters Anonymous" is her social event of the week. I think to myself, "You're not a clutterer, you're a hoarder." I try to remember to be compassionate and don't say it. I haven't been in her house for three years - the odor emanating from her porch is enough. I go home and scream.