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Monday, May 27, 2013

What is "Normal"?

It's a beautiful Sunday afternoon and Mom's here for dinner to celebrate Memorial Day with us.  Hubby's not home yet so we sit and chat, listen to music, and laugh at silly things.

I begin to laugh uncontrollably as I realize many things are happening at once.  I'm thumbing through a Woman's World magazine, slumped over a chair in the living room comfortably.  Mom's in another comfy chair.  We are both listening to and suddenly singing with Jimi Hendrix.  My 70-year old Mom plays air guitar from her chair and states, "I should have been a guitar player!".  I agree.  We continue singing "FOXY LADIEEEEE!" She then announces, "I should have joined a rock band!".  I agree.  And we laugh. 

I have been raised by one of the kindest and funniest, weirdest women you'd ever want to meet.  She is intelligent, worldly, and hilariously silly at times.  That's what we all like about her.  The oddest things can come out of her mouth at the oddest moments.  Normal? Nah! And I wouldn't have wanted it any other way.

My brother was the same but had a more sarcastic nature in his humor.  I miss him terribly. Him normal, though? No way! And he was a fascinatingly talented creature!  He made me think that normal was boring and stagnating when I was younger.

Today is a day to remember those we miss and those we've all lost in one way or another, and those we don't even know but we lost them in active duty serving our country. 

Everyday I pray for their souls.  Today, they all get extra and more detailed prayers. 

I've noticed so many disturbing events in the news, i.e. kidnapping, decapitating, 'almost' wars/conflicts, and threats to the innocent that I feel we should all be doubling and tripling our prayers for mercy and for the fear and hatred among us to dissolve away like dew under the morning sun.  That's my morning prayer.  I offer all my pains and sufferings, prayers, good happenings, love, works, joys up to God for the day and for his blessings to be dispersed wherever they are needed.  And, BOY, are they needed these days!

Normal days are rare, now.  They are so rare that I'm now happy to turn on the television news and hear about a puppy that was found or a funny YouTube video going viral. I used to laugh at the lack of 'real' news. Now, I'll take that over a woman stabbing her ex-boyfriend almost 30 times, cutting his throat, and shooting him in the HEAD! Now, I think we can all agree, that's not normal.

What happens behind closed doors of our neighbors, we don't know.  When we see them occasionally in their driveways or on the street, they seem normal.  But what do we know?  They could have 3 women locked in their basement for the past 10 years as I read in the news recently.

So do we continue to seek 'normal' or accept that it may no longer exist?  How comfortable are we with the fact that 'normal' may be an extinct concept?

Personally, I prefer to think that most people are normal and kind and funny when they are relaxed, and willing to reach out to others in need.  I live that way joyfully and in prayer until others prove me wrong. 

That sounds kind of abnormal, doesn't it?

Monday, May 6, 2013

It's a Miracle



It's unreliable.

But parts of it run like clockwork.
It's abused, had things shoved in it, up it, through it, been starved, overfed, and beaten.
Yet in it's forgiveness, it heals.

You see, it's made to survive.

It's susceptible to much outside of itself
but rebels and fights.

It brings pleasure and pain.
It's been cut, sometimes on purpose and only leaves a scar
as a memory or a lesson.

It allows one to do anything to it
but stays independent in many ways.
It can be morphed but stays the same.

It's been looked at too closely and cursed but remains.
Sometimes it's cherished and cared for and at other times, severely neglected.
We miss it when a part is gone but ignore it up until then.

We push it to its limits or allow it to waste away.

What shall I put my body through today?