The Old Normal
One of the new-ish catch phrases these days is "the new normal." It's how people are adjusting to economic challenges, illness, all kinds of adversity. I, however, am aiming for the "old normal."
Since I got my cast off, I have been trying to return to the old normal around here - where I can make dinner, get around my office and my house without a scooter or crutches, playing on the floor with kids and dogs, doing laundry even. I craved the old normal.
And the funny thing is that my family did, too. While my mother being here was amazingly helpful and I could not have taken care of everything and everyone without her, her being here meant that things were not normal. My kids especially picked up on this. M began acting out and being particularly surly - which is completely unlike her personality (many of you know I've referred to her as the happiest kid on earth). D wanted to watch TV more and had a hard(er) time doing anything by himself. They didn't eat as well. They got up during the night. It wasn't normal.
Even the dogs were off kilter. Hank would get up in the middle of the night and pace around the bed, not settling down until I gave him a benadryl to knock him out (hey - it works for kids and dogs!). I couldn't figure out why he did this - was it the 2 AM train noise? A storm? No, I figured out that it was when Mom got up in the middle of the night downstairs. He would wake up and not know what it was (because he was upstairs with us) and it made him nervous.
So now, I have a walking boot on my leg. My mother has returned home, which is getting her life back to normal. I am back at work after a much needed spring break, and that is more normal, too. I am starting to plan dinners again and thinking about baking again. I still can't quite carry the laundry basket downstairs, but Dear Husband is doing an excellent job tackling that chore. M is sleeping through the night again and being much more herself. Hank is sleeping through the night again, sans benadryl. And that means I am sleeping, too...
Ah, slowly but surely, we are reaching the old normal.
Since I got my cast off, I have been trying to return to the old normal around here - where I can make dinner, get around my office and my house without a scooter or crutches, playing on the floor with kids and dogs, doing laundry even. I craved the old normal.
And the funny thing is that my family did, too. While my mother being here was amazingly helpful and I could not have taken care of everything and everyone without her, her being here meant that things were not normal. My kids especially picked up on this. M began acting out and being particularly surly - which is completely unlike her personality (many of you know I've referred to her as the happiest kid on earth). D wanted to watch TV more and had a hard(er) time doing anything by himself. They didn't eat as well. They got up during the night. It wasn't normal.
Even the dogs were off kilter. Hank would get up in the middle of the night and pace around the bed, not settling down until I gave him a benadryl to knock him out (hey - it works for kids and dogs!). I couldn't figure out why he did this - was it the 2 AM train noise? A storm? No, I figured out that it was when Mom got up in the middle of the night downstairs. He would wake up and not know what it was (because he was upstairs with us) and it made him nervous.
So now, I have a walking boot on my leg. My mother has returned home, which is getting her life back to normal. I am back at work after a much needed spring break, and that is more normal, too. I am starting to plan dinners again and thinking about baking again. I still can't quite carry the laundry basket downstairs, but Dear Husband is doing an excellent job tackling that chore. M is sleeping through the night again and being much more herself. Hank is sleeping through the night again, sans benadryl. And that means I am sleeping, too...
Ah, slowly but surely, we are reaching the old normal.
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