There’s no denying we’ve landed smack dab in middle age.  We’re homeowners with car payments, bills, and a huge yard to mow (thanks for handling that one, BrightSide).  We make big time decisions about internet access, heating/air units, remodeling, and vacations.  Oh, plus we have two middle schoolers (yikes) that guaran-dang-tee we don’t forget we’re officially o-l-d.

I’ll own it.  And I’ve come to realize a singular truth in my wise middle age:  there are certain professions that really ought to require a modicum of OCD.

(No knickers in a twist, now.  I deal with a certain amount of OCD myself and therefore feel entirely okay with writing a post about where we need more of it in the world.  If you’re feeling the need to write me a note about how OCD is a serious psychological disorder and should be off limits for humor, find someone to give you a hug and a Hershey’s bar.)

**  Builders.  I can’t think of a single person who’d say, “Sure, let’s go with the builder who’s okay with details.”  “Okay”?  Hell, no.  You want the builder who will hammer down on every detail until it’s perfect.  The ones who hire the best help in the business because their name is on the project.  The ones who build a house they’d want to live in.  That OCD is what drives the best builders to give 110% all the way through to the project’s end.

**  Designers.  See above.  The difference between an interior designer who makes a room beautiful and one who weaves magic out of color, fabric, texture, and vision is night and day.  The difference between a clothing designer who creates one of a kind clothing and one who designs a piece perfect for your body in form, function, and hue is priceless.  That OCD, that unwavering attention to detail, is what’s gonna get you the extra oomph.

**  Tile installers.  Oh sweet Jesus, the Tile People.  Who on earth would go into this business who isn’t OCD?  Tile is the end all be all of laser-like focus.  It’s the minute details that make or break a room, and the tiniest flaws glare like a cellphone in a pitch black movie theater.

**  Painters.   There’s nothing like a freshly painted wall, clean of all (future) scuffs and prints.  There’s really nothing like a freshly painted wall with one small section the painters missed on their second coat.  That section pulls your eyes to it, demanding attention like a hungry toddler at snack time, until you collapse under the weight of “dammit, how could they have painted an ENTIRE WALL and skipped that one spot??”  Don’t even get me started on trim work.

**  Salespeople.  Listen, folks.  I don’t need you hovering or fawning over me; frankly, that kind of attention creeps me out.  But since it’s so dang easy to shop online these days and your livelihood depends on getting people to come to your store, the least you can do is keep your displays neat.  You know – sizes in order and placed on the right hanger, keeping like pieces grouped together, making sure sales items are on the correct percentage off rack.  All this can be done while you’re wandering the floor (which, let’s be honest, most of you are).  I’ve got a low tolerance for shopping in chaos, and it’s amplified during Back To School craziness.

**  Hairdressers/Barbers.  You’d think this would go without saying.  I’ve used a few stylists when I couldn’t afford to be choosy who were a bit too freestyle for my taste.  They weren’t really into triple and quadruple checking the length of different sections of hair…I suppose it cramped their creativity or something.  I’ll tell you what it did for me, though – it sent me home with random pieces of hair longer than the others.  Not. Cool.  I want my stylist to be nutty about cut, color, highlights – all of it.  Some folks call that OCD, but I’d just call it best practice.