The New Elite

I was listening today to someone talking about how they did not feel like they are normal. A very powerful story this person had. You could just see the power of normal.

NORMAL. A word that I never had a second thought about before now has great significance to me.

Yesterday I was eating lunch with three other women and they start talking about their lives. It doesn’t take me long to realize that I cannot relate to one thing they are saying. I am abnormal. Nope, I am not a normal woman, mom, wife, etc – I don’t say a word, fearing my abnormal ways will stigmatize me. Then the conversation turns to talking about one person’s 10-month-old grandchild, who is starting to walk. How exiting! I have been there twice before with the typical development of the boys and how smooth that all goes. Ummm…inside I ask myself, what is Quinn doing now? Well, gee she just started crawling – let’s recap, she is two YEARS old. Yep, that is not normal. Ok I really need to be quiet now because these women certainly don’t want me to say anything and upset their normal little worlds. Later I tell someone how I didn’t appreciate how a professional person left me a voicemail with the r-word in it. The person said oh they were probably just quoting what the mother said. Yep, I am not normal. I am overly sensitive.

You know what, I have realized that I really don’t want to be normal. I don’t want my daughter to be normal. I want to learn AND grow AND become more sensitive to what other people go through. I don’t want to just assume that everyone walks the same line. That is hurtful. It happens FAR too often and even amongst some people who should know better. Normal is over-rated and desiring it can make some miserable or superficial. Atypical is where it is at. I am part of the elite!

-Karyn