Twyla on Tuesday

Dear Friends, I have a confession to make.

I am a hoarder.  I know this may not come as a surprise to some of you,

but it has just become apparent to me.

I have happily been collecting most of my life all the things I love and never

once realized there was anything wrong with this.  I opened my newspaper this week to

be confronted by an article on hoarding. 

It was an eye opener!

"Hoarders are reluctant to reveal it. They are embarrassed by it but don't want to seek

treatment,"  it read.  Well, I am revealing it and I am not even embarrassed!  "Hoarding is considered a

mental disorder although whether it's a form of obsessive-compulsive disorder is up for debate."  Sheesh!

These people are rough!

I was guilty of the seven signs of a compulsive hoarder.  And I thought I just loved to

collect cute stuff!   My collections are dear to me and as long as it's not interferring with my quality of

life or my family's then I think I'm okay.  It is in the deepest fabric of my being to want

to collect things.  I can't help it, does that make me mental?

On the upside, it did say that 'hoarders shouldn't be confused with slobs or people who collect things.'

Then why did this article make me feel so guilty?

I refuse to believe that I have a mental disorder or am in denial.

Okay, maybe.

I hope you have enjoyed seeing these pictures of some of my collections and don't think ill of me

for having them.  I hope that many of you will understand my joy of collecting and maybe share

in it, too!

Collecting has been my great extravagance.  It's a way of being.  I collect for the

same reason I eat too much-I'm one of nature's shoppers. - Howard Hodgkin

Have a lovely day!

Twyla