Patterns and repetitions often produce good results in music, writing (when used as a motif or theme), art and other creative pursuits.

Patterns and repetitions in behavior either make you compulsive, crazy or conscientious.

Patterns and repetitions in relationships? Those can leave you extremely happy or extremely miserable, worshiped or abused, or heading to therapy.

I’ve been cleaning house all day (not metaphorically; physically) and going through years and years of paperwork and printed email, photos, receipts, ticket stubs, and birthday cards/holiday cards. I’ve looked at some of them and drawn some connections between people I’ve known and people I know, and realized that there’s always a fundamental “cast of characters” in my life.

For some reason (and this might be good fodder for my next visit with the shrink) there’s always someone in the following roles/stereotypes. A count of how many times I’ve had this type of person in my life (that I can clearly recall) is included in parentheses. What struck me are the more toxic types:

• difficult to please and emotionally distant thinker (3)
• often pompous intellectual who enjoys seeing me angry (3)
• dramatically self-destructive and simultaneously ‘high on life’ extrovert(4)
• needy and confused self-destructive who needs an ear/shoulder (3)
• immature and stuck-in-the-past, unwilling to change or move on (2)

There are GOOD categories, too, and the stereotypes above are often tempered by many wonderful characteristics, but I just wonder why I gravitate towards the same type of people over and over again, through the years. Not in dating relationships, but just in friendships. It makes me wonder what’s up with me - especially since there’s a theme of self-destructive people parading along my little path.

Ah, well. I’m not going to try to psychoanalyze myself now and get all pensive. I have a LOT to do this week, not the least of which is pet-sitting from Thursday through next Tuesday, so I’ll have to get an overnight bag together. And include a blow-dryer, somehow, since I can’t leave the house without drying this haircut.

Much much much to do.