Normal

I know, I know… what is NORMAL? What is NORMAL for one person might not be NORMAL for another.

This morning Ken and I had a conversation, and I could tell he was struggling with the concept of NORMAL. The conversation started with my insulin-dependent, pacemaker-implanted, card-carrying Parkinson’s patient husband saying “I’m healthy right? I feel healthy.” My brain went into overdrive. How do I answer? Out of my mouth, with a small curl of my lips, comes “How many pills do you take a day?” “Sixteen” his reply. Again, in my head, 16 pills a day and insulin and he wants to know if he is healthy and NORMAL.

Then the real conversation emerges. He doesn’t like the words “sick” and “disabled.” He doesn’t view himself that way. Well, neither do I, usually. But to be honest, yes, sometimes his behaviors are that of a person who is sick or disabled. Right now, I’m thinking he is going to hate reading this.

He further justifies his point by saying “My dad got up in the morning, put on his leg, and went to work. It was NORMAL. He wasn’t disabled.” Yes, you read that correctly, put on his leg. And there it is NORMAL. We now live in a new NORMAL, a fluid NORMAL that we change and adjust daily…so we can be NORMAL.