Many of us think of our lives as boringly normal, while others live the high life. Take a step back, and take a look at your life as an outsider might. Now, tell us at least six unique, exciting, or just plain odd things about yourself.
My wife has a saying that nothing beats a plain old normal, boring day. I imagine many of us believe we have a normal, boring lives. We probably get this feeling due to the seeming monotony of daily life. In truth having uneventful days can be a blessing, in that when bad things are the events there is a price to be paid. This is what my wife means by seeing no issue with the boring days.
I suppose normal is a relative term. My normal will not be the same as everyone else. Some days this normal seems less than it should, especially when you compare it to others who seem to have a better situation. This is when it is best ro step back and review your positives and realize your blessings for what they are.
One. I am married. I have been for twenty years. It is a tremendous blessing to have a great marriage to a woman who understands me and cares about my well-being. The benefit of having someone understand you this well cannot be overstated. They are there to buoy you when you are unsteady and share your joys. I know plenty of people who never married or whose marriage failed for various reasons. I understand what a great situation I have.
Two. I am a father. I have two great children, a boy and a girl. I love being around kids and have since I was one. Being a father wasn’t necessarily something I looked forward to because I never really thought it about it so much. I guess I just assumed it would be so since the normal progression of things tends to be marriage and family. Again as with marriage that is not a given. There are so many couples aching to be parents that cannot on their own and either must try adoption or just remain childless. I am blessed to have the experience of a son and a daughter.
Three. I am a Christian. I would normally list this first as it is the most important thing I want everyone to know about me. I chose to follow Christ at an early age (16) and never regretted the decision. There is an increasing bias toward the Christian faith as the media tries to portray the beliefs as out of the mainstream so much that it is too radical. I get aggravated with the way the faith is marginalized as if we have no right to believe the things we do. But the fact that I believe in eternal life will not change no matter how the debate is shaped by the politicians or the media.
Four. I am a writer. I enjoy writing as it entertains not only me, but the readers I present it to for their enjoyment. I have certificates from writing contests that validate my talent. I also have comments on my blog from people who read and enjoy my perspective. Not everyone shares the talent or love for writing, so that is definitely not a normal thing.
Five. I love to garden. I have enjoyed this for many, many years. Coaxing seeds out of the ground and nursing them to the point of harvest is a task I relish year round, not just during the gardening season. The anticipation in this time of years is something I always cherish. The warmth of the sun while working the ground in preparation and the work to grow the plants is all part of the love of gardening.
Six. I am an encourager. One of the things I like most is to compliment or encourage others. You will be hard pressed to find someone who doesn’t like to be encouraged from time to time. This mortal life is full of events that drag us down and make us doubt ourselves. Picking up others does not require that much of ourselves. We can offer a word that compliments another very easily if we just listen to their needs.
So again, normal is a relative thought. This is my normal, and while some days it seems boring to me, for some it might be quite exciting. These six things make me the unique person known as Joe.
Other Daily prompt responses:
Daily Prompt; Far From Normal (terry1954.wordpress.com)
- Far From Normal – Living My Dream (alenaslife.wordpress.com)
- Six Odd Things (grandmalin.wordpress.com)
- Daily Prompt: Normal Means? Are we Far From Normal? (layedbacklife.wordpress.com)
Joe's Musings 
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I have never really thought about this and never expected anyone to actually think a normal and apparently boring life to be an actual good thing. Sometimes I get anxious because I find my life uneventful and then when I get an opportunity to do something different, I get worried. I am trying to break free of those fears.
Your post really made me think and question my life. Thank you.
Thank you for the pingback
Loved your blog. In answer to your question, Copy and paste from original then also into the trackback. That should take care of it. There are occasionally various articles on your right bottom of editing screen that will show that are related as well. I only tend to post if they are really recent. Hope this helped if not email me and I can explain more.
I am a movie quoter (also husband, father, and writer) and one of my favorites is from Tombstone…
There is no such thing as a normal life. There is only life. Whatever keeps the gun barrell out of your mouth and not hurting others is okay with me.
Nice to meet your blog.
Tim
Yes, when one of us in the family has even the slightest ailment, and when in the past our ‘normal’ lives seriously deviated away from ‘ordinary’, and not in a good way, we realized the preciousness of ‘normal’ and ordinary. for me, and for my husband, ‘normal’ is what we aspire for, and hope that God keeps it that way for us and for all our loved ones.
very nice post. 🙂
Awesome post Joe! Normal is relative to everyone. But you know what, being “normal” per se is a blessing, to be able to have some sort of routine trance of living. Makes those different moments a nice surprise usually 😉
Have a great day!