Pete and Repeat

Pete and Repeat were walking across the bridge.
Pete fell in... who was left?

Answer: Repeat!

Pete and Repeat were walking across the bridge. Pete fell in...

We used to love this joke as kids. Along with other repetitive antics, like Dad throwing us onto his bed and telling us to get OFF his bed. Of course because we were smaller and giggling it took all our strength to try to get up. And then, right when we were about to get up, he would toss us back onto the bed. Why are repetitive jokes and games so fun for kids? They know what it coming next… Why does a baby think it’s so funny when you say “beep, beep, beep” while you tap from their belly right up to their nose…. over and over again? I remember reading in a child development book that knowing what was coming next was what was so great for babies. They found comfort in knowing the game. Babies love peek a boo. They get to feel a bit of danger and worry when you hide your face, but are all squeals when they find you were really still there all along. And does it even matter if the end isn’t all funny by itself? No.

Living with OCD on a daily basis I have learned to love and hate the repeat. Repetitive Rituals can be comforting and calm me down. A person living with OCD learns to live with and even love many of the tics you have because there is always that hope they are going to make you feel better. But they can also throw me into a downward spin and make me totally loose it. There are certain checking routines that will trigger a mudslide of other checking routines and of course this always happens when I am running late.

And when you live with OCD EVERYTHING repeats. Not just the repetitive rituals and counting, but tunes, conversations you had with people (I still replay converstions I had with various people from 15-20 years ago!) It’s like Ground Hogs day. Well, I can’t say for sure, I never saw that movie.

There are so many things I take comfort in doing, saying, counting, over and over again and then there are the things that drive me insane if I have to hear or think about them one more time. I would be happy listening to the same song over and over. In fact if I have control over it, I almost always repeat a song I like at least once and would be happy with repeating it 5 or 6 times. I also have an annoying way of listening to a new CD… I listen to my favorite song (ya know the one you bought the CD for in the first place) 5 or 6 times, then I listen to the first 20 seconds or so of all the songs and then go back to my “favorite song.” It drives Kenneth up the wall.

I have the same problem at restaurants. I love to order the same foods over and over. Even if I have had many different things on the menu that I know I love just as much, I prefer to just order the same thing. I will also prepare the same thing at home over and over again. This works ok when it is just me, but I have to remember Kenneth doesn’t want to eat the same thing every night or even every 3 days.

Then there are the movies I have memorized, but will still watch over and over again. I often watch 20 or 30 minutes of one before going to sleep. I figured this one out a while ago. Somehow of knowing exactly what was happing, while being lost in the scenery, costume, etc. is just enough to let go and let myself fall asleep (I have suffered from insomnia since I was a little girl).

I have always loved gingham and have it in just about every room of my house. I think because it is the same pattern right or left, top or bottom, front or back. All those neat little squares lined up… it’s just one big REPEAT! And who couldn’t love that!

So, why is it when my son listens to the same song over and over on his IPOD or the same book (this summer it’s Judy Blume’s, Double Fudge) does it drive me absolutely crazy!?! It doesn’t even take me 3 seconds to hear this from across the house before I just loose it! Before that it was a book about a frog who went “ballump, ballump.” Just writing about that makes me want to scream!

What Repeats do you find comfort in?