What is NORMAL? I used to believe there was a standard normal. As I've married and had kids, my eyes have been opened to the fact that there really is no such thing as normal. There is not a family that is normal, there is not a person that is normal. Everyone and every situation is so unique. No person or family can be compared to another to define normal. One person's normal is different from another person's normal. Normal is not the perfect status quo of what we are all striving to be like. We CREATE our own Normal. I believe Normal is a lifestyle in which each person/family can, or at least tries to, accomplish things they feel are important.
The other day I was talking with a good friend about some trials she had been through during the last couple years. She said she missed how her life used to be- NORMAL. She told me she had come to a new realization that her idea of Normal now had to be changed. She needed to find a new Normal for her family. This really hit me that I needed to find a temporary New Normal for our family too. Our lifestyle has changed and will continue to be different for at least the next 3 months.
Our new Normal is mostly a time constraint- the time has been re-assigned to more important priorities. We often think "We just don't have time" to do this or that, but when trials hit- time is redefined! Priorities become clear- God, Family, and Friends(Humanity) matter most.
Everything we use to do has been re-evaluated. My 4 hrs. per day spent pumping for Kate is the most important thing I can do for her right now. My hour and a half spent on the road to go see her is another. I have simplified what my kids are involved in. I have focused on the quality of activities we do as a family. I'm doing my best to be a mother to my kids at home and to Kate in the NICU at the same time. It is hard not to feel the guilt of being split between the two places I need to be. Our new Normal is going to be finding the balance between the two.
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