When My Normal is Abnormal

[Kenny]

My brother rented a room with his wife-to-be from the mother of a fourteen year old who would eventually be my wife. A old Spanish colonial-style home with all the 6 rooms on the right hand side of atriums that ran the full length of a 8 room home. One community kitchen in the middle and one bathroom serviced all of the 6 families that lived there (some were single).

My future wife, Betsy, share her full size bed with her two sisters. Her room had a couple of buckets to catch the drops of rain that would come through during the rain-storms of Venezuela.

Eventually, having met Betsy, I decided to visit my brother more often and developed a relationship with the families that lived there. Nights usually included games of dominoes.

Eventually I realized that rats of all sizes roamed without impunity throughout the house and especially the kitchen. Apparently it wasn't the first time one would open the drawer that had utensils and a rat would jump out.

For them, this was normal. Though abnormal for me, my abnormal was their normal.

One night I decided to make a game out of it during the playing of dominoes as I set 3 rat traps. One night, low twenties found the end of their lives.

Which relates to my life. Society has a way of making us think we are living normal lives. Yet society's "normal" can actually be quite "abnormal".

It is when the light of God entered into the darkness of my life's abnormal that I found out what normal was suppose to look like.

Betsy's abnormal normal was that marriage would last 7 years and then a divorce.

My abnormal normal was, if you can't get intimacy in your wife's bed, get it outside of your marriage (taught by my father who eventually had 3 marriages)

A catastrophe waiting to happen.

But the light came into our lives on our 8th year of marriage that was heading south quickly.

John 1:4 The Word gave life to everything that was created,
and his life brought light to everyone. AMPC

John 1:4 His life is the light that defines our lives MIRROR

He (Jesus - the light) exposed was abnormal and removed it. He showed us what was normal.

As I peer into the light of His word, He continues to expose what I thought was normal realizing that it was abnormal. He continues to take my abnormals transforming into His normal as I walk in the mirror of Jesus.

Ever thought what you might think is normal but actually is abnormal?

 

[Sand Dancer]

I think what you grow up with seems normal but when you get into larger society, you realize it wasn't.

 

[Vinayaka]

I think what you grow up with seems normal but when you get into larger society, you realize it wasn't.

I concur. My wife thought all men were alcoholics until she was 14 or so. I thought all people were honest law abiding citizens until about that age. We're mostly all naive to the larger world, until the opportunity presents itself for exploration.

A few times I've looked at practices outside of my 'normal', and had it explained by 'They're used to it.' It truly is one diverse planet we live on.

 

[Viker]

I gave up on "normal" long, long ago. It wasn't what I thought it was, if it ever was. That's been my steady normal ever since.

 

[Gargovic Malkav]

As I grew up as an undiagnosed autistic, there were many social norms and expectations which were apparently normal but I thought of as madness.
I still do sometimes, but life experience and my environment cutting me some slack has made me more understanding and compassionate and has given the word "normal" a more subjective meaning.

 

[URAVIP2ME]

I gave up on "normal" long, long ago. It wasn't what I thought it was, if it ever was. That's been my steady normal ever since.

In high school we used to say one must be a little crazy in order to keep one's sanity -

 

[JustGeorge]

I have a lot of that, both positive and negative.

We don't have to do it anymore, but we used to have to rig indoor locks to the front door, or my son would go out without a word, wandering and getting into stuff(not being street aware). We used to have to do that with the kitchen, too, or he'd dump food on the floor for funsies. He no longer does that, but we still have the door rigged(no longer locked) because its helpful keeping the dogs out of the trash.

We used to not be able to take him shopping, because he'd hyperfocus on what cart he wanted(and he seemed to know them all personally), and would have a fit if he couldn't get it(even if someone else had it). For me, not taking kids to the store is normal. Honestly, it still puts me on edge. My middle guy has come a long way, but he still wanders/runs off, and sometimes still has a weird obsession(he got weird about carts yesterday), so needing a second adult to go to the store with me if I'm taking multiple children in my abnormal normal.

We keep the cat food on the porch. When the front door opens, all the cats come running(there are ten). It baffles company who isn't used to the herd.

Just a few...

 

[Kenny]

As I grew up as an undiagnosed autistic, there were many social norms and expectations which were apparently normal but I thought of as madness.
I still do sometimes, but life experience and my environment cutting me some slack has made me more understanding and compassionate and has given the word "normal" a more subjective meaning.

That's beautiful

 

[sun rise]

There is a vast gap in the world today between the way things are and they way they should be, You've reminded me of one of my all time favorite movies - Man of La Mancha and this soliloquy::

 

[Shadow Wolf]

I think what you grow up with seems normal but when you get into larger society, you realize it wasn't.

That's often true for abuse.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

Different but related:
It reminded me how I just learned a couple years ago that, no, it's not normal to see beams and rays coming from light as it's often portrayed in images, that's just what happens when you have an astigmatism.

 

[JustGeorge]

Different but related:
It reminded me how I just learned a couple years ago that, no, it's not normal to see beams and rays coming from light as it's often portrayed in images, that's just what happens when you have an astigmatism.

I didn't know that wasn't normal!

 

[Shadow Wolf]

I didn't know that wasn't normal!

I still have a hard time with it. I can't remember not seeing that, it's on countless pictures, and what does not even sound right without. It's just this dot with nothing visually emitting from it? Get of of here with that idea that sounds like it's against the Laws if Nature.