like molly, i think "normal" is boring and over-rated. my normal is not your normal and i'm ok with that unless your normal involves rape, murder or hurting kids. i've never been "normal" in any part of my life. i was born dead and things got crazier from there.  actually i think that's cool and that is what i've tried to instill in my children. i like the concept of normal is fluid.

great coversation starter, molly!

10 hours ago, Mikiesboy said:

I don't know what normal is other than body temperature. My life hasn't been normal, and compared to most it still isn't. But is it good or bad?  I don't know, to me, it just is what it is. 

 

I like who i am, who We are and i wouldn't change it. 

 

nice blog, molly xo

thanks, tim

it's a word and a concept that aren't my favorite

i appreciate you joining the conversation

10 hours ago, BHopper2 said:

Routines, order, normalcy, they are all words that describe the patterns we each settle into, in order to process how we handle our time.

routines can lend an air of normalcy to our lives

appreciate the conversation A!

10 hours ago, BlindAmbition said:

I hate the word NORMAL. It’s a herding word, keeping people like cattle. I.cringe with labels. I’m just me. My life is fluid, because life constantly changes. The only consistent is my partner who leads us. That’s my normal.

it is a herding word, jp!  thanks for adding that to the mix. i love it!

8 hours ago, MichaelS36 said:

I think there are normal (perhaps read: acceptable) societal norms, the majority can agree on. Possibly it's easier to say what's not acceptable to us, are the least normal of behaviours.  Heinous crimes like premeditated murder, rape and/or the sexual exploitation of children. Yet, there are those among us to which all of these are just fine.

My career took a major turn when a man we arrested, looked me in the eye and told us the reasons why what he did was okay. I won't write what that was here.

 

To him it was his normal, to us it was abhorrent. It is a conversation I shall never forget.

Generally I think normal, is acceptable by most, it's comfortable and safe, and like A said, helps us deal with life.

 

But now and then, put your bikini and blades on....

thanks for commenting SIr

certainly, those things from Your previous career were decidedly ABnormal to the majority

7 hours ago, MacGreg said:

Normal is as fluid as the people who use the word to define themselves. I feel pretty "normal" most days. I get up, go for a run, have coffee, shower, get ready for work. Each day is similar to the last and similar to the next. But most people would not consider my Life to be normal ("you do what with your partner...?!") Therefore, NORMAL is a relative term, used in whatever context the user of the word chooses. If normal means being a part of the everyday majority, then I'll happily go off on the abnormal path. That's where my pack lives.

 

Great blog, molly.

i am seeing that NORMAL is in the eye of the beholder, as it were

thanks for joining the conversation Sir

7 hours ago, mogwhy said:

like molly, i think "normal" is boring and over-rated. my normal is not your normal and i'm ok with that unless your normal involves rape, murder or hurting kids. i've never been "normal" in any part of my life. i was born dead and things got crazier from there.  actually i think that's cool and that is what i've tried to instill in my children. i like the concept of normal is fluid.

 

great coversation starter, molly!

parts of my life have been far from "normal" as well

thanks Moggy!

6 hours ago, Dodger said:

A really interesting and thought provoking blog.

When I was a teenager, I didn't considered myself 'normal' because normal was boring and it wasn't cool. I wanted to be different just like everybody else, which made me pretty normal. I know now that it's not that easy. 

I think that most of us are stuck with normal because it's almost impossible to live, outside of it and most wouldn't want to. There are a few exceptions, like Kings and Queens and a handful of oddball billionaires whose lives are completely different from everyone else but most of the other 8 billion humans on the planet could probably be classed as normal.

hello Dodger, yes we are stuck with normal, well because jobs and all

thanks for your comments

6 hours ago, JayT said:

I know when I attended Texas A&M, I met a group of people and learned what NORMaL was. National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Legalization. That was also the night I discovered that I'm allergic to the actual marijuana plant. 

28 minutes ago, JayT said:

Basically, my previous comment was just to show that there isn't a Normal out there. The only NORMaL I found wanted to make Marijuana legal everywhere.  

i guess JayT that normal, to paraphrase Forrest Gump, "Normal is as Normal does."

appreciate you joining in!

1 hour ago, Caz Pedroso said:

I've never been considered 'normal'.

 

While I was in secondary school I was studying and keeping to the school uniform code, other girls were experimenting with makeup and talking about boys. 

 

When I got to college I loved studying law and accounting while the rest of my class did the bare minimum to get by because their parents had told them they had to attend college or get a job. Group assignments are not fun if you end up doing all the work, even if you get a lot of the credit for it. 

 

University was worse in a way. While my classmates were getting drunk and drugged up and talking about who they'd 'done' that night. I was traveling a four hour round trip to get to classes and trying to make time to see my fiance. Apparently, it isn't normal for a uni student to NOT get drunk and sleep around. Apparently, I needed to bring more experience to my marriage. 

 

If all this was what was considered 'normal' I wanted no part of it and still don't. It may work for some people, but not for me. 

My parents brought me up to be an individual and to be proud of it. It has caused me no end of trouble with bullies and such, but I never want to be anyone but myself. For that, I will put up anything. 

 

Good topic molly  

thanks Caz!

i had the bullies in high school, secondary school in the UK.  i spent time stuffed in trash cans, and lockers for getting higher grades than everyone, and thereby blowing the grading curve

thanks for commenting Caz! 

Why I can cope with normal:  In our day-to-day mundane lives, normal means getting through the things we have to do so we can have the time to do the things we want to do.  It's how we manage to work 9 to 5 for almost 40 years so we can afford to retire and be comfortable.  It's how we manage to get through a normal day at work hoping nothing too exciting happens otherwise we may have to stay late and miss dinner out with friends.  Human beings don't want to be boring, but they want efficient routines so they can get the boring necessities done and still have time for a bit of fun or just goofing off.  

Unfortunately, we do not live in boring times and that reminds me of that old curse about living in interesting times.   

12 hours ago, dughlas said:

If "normal" boys don't take dance class who will the "normal" ballerinas dance with?

my niece is part of a big dance troupe in Colorado.  there are 25 girls, and 3 boys.

i wish more boys were encouraged to not be normal

thanks for joining the conversation

12 hours ago, Kitt said:

When I was in high school one of my friends told me if I had ever lived and one of those housing developments that every house looks the same, he was quite sure I would find a way to turn it upside down and sit on its peak. He thought it amusing that I had to be different.

 

Normal changed for me over the years. Now that I work with the animals, normal to me means a day that things go smoothly. When things get exciting at a 40 horse stable, it usually means something is going wrong.

i understand the need to need to be different, Kitt! 

thanks for adding to the discussion!

3 hours ago, Daddydavek said:

Why I can cope with normal:  In our day-to-day mundane lives, normal means getting through the things we have to do so we can have the time to do the things we want to do.  It's how we manage to work 9 to 5 for almost 40 years so we can afford to retire and be comfortable.  It's how we manage to get through a normal day at work hoping nothing too exciting happens otherwise we may have to stay late and miss dinner out with friends.  Human beings don't want to be boring, but they want efficient routines so they can get the boring necessities done and still have time for a bit of fun or just goofing off.  

 

Unfortunately, we do not live in boring times and that reminds me of that old curse about living in interesting times.   

i appreciate that you took the time to read and respond

thanks for your comments

15 hours ago, JayT said:

Basically, my previous comment was just to show that there isn't a Normal out there. The only NORMaL I found wanted to make Marijuana legal everywhere.  

You know any long time potheads, JayT? Why any one wants to become that, I do not know. Legal does not equal, smart or good.

2 minutes ago, MichaelS36 said:

You know any long time potheads, JayT? Why any one wants to become that, I do not know. Legal does not equal, smart or good.

I agree...I'm like have any of y'all actually watched people who were high on pot? They act completely stupid. They get lazy. I can't stand lazy and stupid. I'm just lazy...at least I still got my smarts cuz I got learned good in school....and I can totally talk right

3 minutes ago, JayT said:

I agree...I'm like have any of y'all actually watched people who were high on pot? They act completely stupid. They get lazy. I can't stand lazy and stupid. I'm just lazy...at least I still got my smarts cuz I got learned good in school....and I can totally talk right

I knew one...he'd be the first to tell you what it had done to him. Barely put a sentence together anymore. It's sad...I do not get what it does for you, I really don't. 

7 minutes ago, MichaelS36 said:

I knew one...he'd be the first to tell you what it had done to him. Barely put a sentence together anymore. It's sad...I do not get what it does for you, I really don't. 

I knew this guy once, that swore all he did was pot. But, it really messed him up. He couldn't remember his own name and had to look at his Driver's Lic. I swear he was smoking something that was laced with something else.