Checking

If I'm going out somewhere, I will check that my purse is in my handbag before I venture out, and also check that my debit card is in my purse. This is because my adult son often uses my debit card (with my consent) to physically go out and purchase shopping for me, and sometimes forgets to give my debit card back to me afterwards.

My front door and back door both require keys to lock them from outside. Immediately after locking my front door or back door, I always feel compelled to check that they are locked before placing my house keys in my handbag (or sometimes my coat pocket). After walking all of about 10 feet away from my house, I then feel compelled to double-check that my keys are in my handbag (or pocket).

For me, I think the need to check these things seems to date back to my childhood, when my parents felt I was mature enough to be trusted with my own key to the family home. The knowledge that if I was careless and lost the key, they would be faced with the inconvenience and expense of calling out a locksmith to change the door lock.

On rare occasions when I have spent more than a day away from my home, I never worry that I may have forgotten to lock the doors to my house, mainly because of my compulsion to check they are locked before I go anywhere. However, I will routinely check inside the zipped pocket inside my handbag to reassure myself that my house keys are still there.

I can so relate to checking sometimes I return home having walked to the bottom of my road or I turn the car round.The silly thing is I have never not locked the door!

I can so relate to checking sometimes I return home having walked to the bottom of my road or I turn the car round.The silly thing is I have never not locked the door!