If you have ever visited our home, it’s hard to believe I am OCD about anything. (Except for me, it would CDO, in proper alphabetical order. The girls claim it’s a wonder I didn’t name them alphabetically.)
However, it drives me nuts when the hymnals and prayer books are not lined up properly in the pew racks. The taller hymnals in the center, and the shorter Book of Common Prayer on either side, nicely snugged together. Viewed from the door of the church, it gives the impression that we take pride in the way things look, and most people in the congregation are really good about making sure their books are in place when they leave. If not, the ushers will tidy up after services, pushing books together and collecting stray bulletins. One of our former rectors once said that his idea of Hell for me would be to have a rack of books, just beyond my reach – and he’s probably right.
Friday, we went to a memorial service for our youngest daughter’s mother-in-law.
That parish uses two different hymnals, so there were three books in the rack, all just shoved in higgledy-piggelty. The moment we walked into the sanctuary, The Squire grabbed my elbow, and whispered fiercely, “Don’t touch the books!”
I did straighten out the ones in front of us, but for the most part, I sat there and twitched during the entire service.
It’s a dire fate to have a fetish, let me tell you!
thisendoftheswamp 
Now, if you were like that with kitchen cupboards, people would say it was a positive character trait.
I *do* keep my spices in alphabetical order.
And sometimes even the ushers can’t get it right. I go through the church after the place has cleared out and straighten up the hymnals and BCP. To this day, NOBODY has given me a satisfactory explanation of why some people return the books to their racks upside down, backwards or both.
I stifle a scream, “IT’S NOT THAT HARD, PEOPLE!!!”
You and I ARE kindred spirits!
To top it off, the Wednesday Morning coffee bunch made bookmarks from plastic canvas and ribbons, and people can’t even figure out how to use those. Open the book to page 359, flip to 387 – without putting a ribbon in place – and then frantically try to find their place after the Prayers.
We used to have a parishioner who would pull out the bookmark and put it in the rack. “Can’t be bothered with it. The ribbons are never in the right place, anyway.” I asked him if he seriously thought we had a team of hymnal pixies who came through and marked every book on Saturday?
Yeesh.
Ah, this is so funny. I’ve heard some people can’t stand it if there are two exclamation points instead of one or three!! I hope that didn’t bother you ;). I honestly can see why it would be annoying. I get that way sometimes and then other times it wouldn’t bother me. I don’t know why I have one again-off again OCD/CDO.