I recently heard a mother say that she loved fall. It was the time her family slipped back into a routine. She said she longed for the normalcy of fall. Now fast forward. Here we are, two or three weeks into the fall “normalcy” and what do our homes look like? Book bags with papers jammed into the pockets. Notes from teachers, and even more scary, evaluations sent home from teachers who want a response back!
If you are feeling like your child is not normal, let me just say this: Normal is a setting on the dryer. It does not in any way relate to children. Each child is unique and valuable. One of our primary jobs as a parent is to find the sweet spot on our child. How is my child special? How is my child great? Remember, they probably will be potty-trained by the time they leave for college. They will probably not take their pacifier with them to the first grade, but if they do, does that make them less of a person?
Look out when you think you have hit normal. “Normal”, besides being a setting on the dryer, is a mere illusion. It is what we think happens in other people’s homes, but not in ours. I have done hundreds of home visits over my career as an early childhood educator. Do you know what I find? “Normal” is chaos. “Normal” is no time to do the laundry because your child has soccer practice. “Normal” is the occasional fast food meal from the drive-thru. “Normal” is stress! “Normal” is not getting the baby a nap because you had errands to run. Don’t you sometimes wonder, if we are a royal priesthood, where the household servants are for the palace in which you live?
We are called to be a peculiar people and aren’t you glad! God did not call us to be normal; He called us to be uniquely fitted for His purpose. So, as you make decisions about what to do and what can be left for another day that seems to never come, reread Luke 10:38-42. If this had been a contemporary story, Jesus would probably have said to Martha, “Let’s just order a pizza, no big deal!” The King James Version in 1 Peter 2:9 calls us a peculiar people. I like that; I think Jesus may think normal is a setting on the dryer as well.