Normal? Really?

Rhi and I were standing in the grocery line at Walmart tonight and since I have my Ballroom dance class tomorrow night I was thinking about my steps from last week. Of course thinking about my steps led to practicing my steps. It was a slow line. I think that first step we learned has come back to me. I believe I was trying to step out on the wrong leg. If I step left, right, back left and over it seems to work. Anyway, Rhi looked at me with a grin and said Mom please - be normal. This led to a fairly lengthy discussion that lasted all the way out to the truck about how I used to smack her upside the head in the grocery store and tell her to be normal all the time. Now I don't remember it happening this way at all. I don't remember ever smacking her upside the head. I do remember thinking about it once or twice. Rhi was a challenging child. I do remember telling her to behave. Usually this had something to do with her standing on her head in the cart, or engaging complete strangers in lengthy conversation about all manner of personal information about our business. She was a chatterbox. Apparently I never let her go outside when she wanted to play ball either. I think she's dreaming or possibly psychic, I was probably thinking pretty hard about not drawing attention. I used to care a lot about blending in and trying to be invisible. That was one of the biggest changes Rhi engineered in my life. You couldn't blend into the woodwork around Rhi. People notice her and want to talk to her wherever she goes. Maybe the change in my life started with her and maybe I've aged out of it to some extent. Somewhere along the way I've given up the idea of being "normal". It's not all it's cracked up to be anyway. It might even be boring. I don't know if I'll ever be comfortable being completely open out there in the world but unique is probably going to be okay. I may be like Grandma Moses and shine in my 80's. Meanwhile I'm just going to keep right on dancing.