Making Different Normal

It's a Saturday morning. I stand quietly at the window holding my daughter while we watch her sister play in the freshly fallen snow. My husband is by the door, piling on winter gear as he prepares to snow blow the driveway for the fourth time this week. To a passerby we look like we are living the American Dream. They don't know that we're different, and honestly, even I sometimes forget.

Most people hold all of their children, and kiss them all goodnight. The majority of Moms see their kids off to their first day of school, & most people don't cry in the toy aisle at Christmas time because they don't even know what their child likes (I'm guilty of this, I'll admit it). I suppose, you could say that makes us different.

     Most children have to worry about their siblings taking their toys from their room and borrowing their clothes. “Normal” sisters get to share secrets in the darkness, long after their parents have gone to bed. Most 7 year old's don't have to wonder who they should add to their family tree for their school project. I guess some people would say that makes my children different.

When looking at life as a birthmom, it can be really easy to see ways that we are different. In the past, I have often struggled with the differences, wondering if I sacrificed my normalcy the same time I placed my child. In a way, I guess you could say I did.

     If you looked at everyone closely though, I mean really looked, wouldn't we all be different? Doesn't everyone have something in their lives that makes them stand out from the crowd? Whether that has to do with their lifestyle choices, their careers, past mistakes, or their current relationships, I think deep inside, there's no such thing as “normal”.

     So, this year, instead of focusing on the things that make us different, I'm going to focus on the things that make us just as “normal” as every other family. We all have people that we love, jobs that we go to, pets to take care of, and driveways to snow blow. We all have walked paths that have changed us completely, and we all have had struggles, no matter what the kind. What are some other ways that we are all the same, and what are some other things that you think make us unique?  

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