The New Normal

Several years ago, a new phrase started making the rounds: "The New Normal". For some reason, that phrase has bugged me, I would cringe whenever I heard it. See, I like familiarity, things that are known, routine, etc. In my mind, if something is new, it can't be normal yet. The new normal of life without my sister is still very much not normal, and I prefer the life of her being here, on the other end of the phone calls, at family celebrations, etc.

But, as I think more about it, my life has been a life of new normals which have made my life better: becoming a wife, becoming a mom, becoming a Christian. All of these required some changes in my thinking and actions, sometimes those changes were difficult (realizing that the spirit of homemaking didn't just descend on me after the I do's, that you can lead a toddler to the potty but you can't make them produce), but they also were such gifts and things I wouldn't want to change.

The new normal of life without Brenda here is so very hard, but I can also look at the gifts from the past several months: Watching my Justin play KFL football for the first time, seeing my Ryan attending his first Disciple Now weekend with the youth at our church, watching my Madison improving each week at gymnastics.

So, my new normal is helping Madison fill out Valentines (at two or three a day, I'm wishing we had started this last month), working with Justin on his lines for Peter Pan, trying to avoid having to take Excedrin every time Ryan tries to explain computer stuff to me. And the part of my normal that will always stay the same and never change is God!