Reflections From a Country Girl

On Broadway there is a  play called “Next to Normal.”  It’s a musical on how suburban households cope with crisis and how hard parents try to keep families intact. 

I thought to myself when I saw this, what is a “normal” family anyway?  

Oh, I’ve seen model families from the outside looking in.  I suspect these folks are some of the best examples of families I have come across in my lifetime.  I also suspect that, if I told you who you/they are, they would deny being a “normal” family based on their perceptions of what normal families are. 

There are some qualities, however, that seem to resonate among these families.  Here they are:

1. parents are good communicators and teach their children the importance of good communication

2. children feel safe and secure at their homes

3. children are encouraged to become who they want to become and at their fullest possible potential

4. faith and religion are important parts of the family 

5. family rallies around when encouragement and support is needed

6. parents are honored and loved – even if they do think differently

7. families know how to play together

8. parents help their children to become financially responsible individuals

I’m sure there are more, but I suspect this would be what an ideal normal family would be.  I’ve been fortunate to see this in other families and appreciate those qualities.  

My wish for you today is that you have experienced these things with your family.  If not, it’s never too late to explore some alternatives for your own family so you can be as “next to normal.”

~ Joellen

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 7th, 2009 at 8:34:am and is filed under Living Life to the Fullest, Parenting & Families. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.