Nesting and Numbers

Do we enter a nesting period when we are about to embark on some of the most exciting times in our life?
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Urban Dictionary defines nesting as "a ritual performed by pregnant women in ridding the house, the 'nest,' from anything potentially harmful to the soon to be born child. This can also be seen as a phase before menstruation where the woman enjoys cuddling and snuggling more than usual."

Interestingly enough, the second definition given via Urban Dictionary lists nesting as "the act of covering a toilet set in toilet paper to avoid contamination from urine..."

The nesting period that I have been experiencing might be a combination of all three.

Over the past two months, I have felt incredibly unsettled and a bit aloof. I am often very comfortable and collected, so naturally I have noticed a difference in my behavior and desires. This feeling has led me to become obsessed with cleaning, sorting, shredding and omitting any clutter in my life -- a form of nesting, or so it seems.

Yes, this does include spending several hours pulling weeds (or any ambiguous vegetation) encompassing my home, vigorously vacuuming and scrubbing my bathtub to a sheen. Yet beyond merely housework, this de-cluttering mentality has encroached on my personal and professional life as well.

I have become easily irritated by my cluttered Facebook and LinkedIn pages, filled with updates from contacts far from the center of my inner circle. I have gently released some of these contacts (which I am certain has not led to any sort of heartbreak or disappointment).

My financial planner rarely hears from me, and yet within the past several weeks I have contacted him multiple times to rearrange my accounts and investments. My pie-chart was just too colorful, haphazard and uncalculated.

What leads to this feeling of undergoing a nesting mentality? I do not have children, I maintain a very active and engaging social life, share my time volunteering and giving to others and have a bustling career. I am not a messy person -- I've been told my home seems pre-staged for a realtors showing.

Could it be the economy? The upcoming elections? Uncertainty in my career? Missing a relationship? Reviewing my faults?

Or perhaps it's something even deeper. Do we enter a nesting period when we are about to embark on some of the most exciting times in our life? When we feel so much anxiety inside of us that we must release this energy somehow?

Having recently celebrated a birthday that ends in a zero, I am not completely astounded by this period of angst. I feel excited for the opportunities that lie ahead and view my enraged nesting as a way for me to have control of something in an utterly chaotic world.

While the Master Planner and powers-that-be focus on delicately aligning the stars for me, I will continue to rearrange my pantry using primary-colored tupperware containers. Take your time, galaxies. I have a lot of storage space to organize.

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