Weird Parents R Us
Written by Jen Thursday, 04 September 2008 00:00
Blog
On our refrigerator is a magnet touting a great truth: "The only normal people are the ones you don't know very well." (Credit goes to Joe Ancis, a magnificent mind in the world of fridge magnets.)
Or so I always believed.
Turns out it should read: The only normal people are the weird adults who live here. This from my eldest son, who has a way of making every parenting guru want to change careers.
Allow me to explain. For some inexplicable reason, my teen son and I were engaged in a conversation about weirdness. What, exactly, is weird? I'd always assumed that I was a little odd, probably because I was told this repeatedly in grade school by the cool kids. And because weirdness is contagious, my spouse has been afflicted as well (though I secretly believe he was born with his own share).
In fact, our son who is certain he is not at all weird rated us as 7 or 8 on the weirdness scale, 10 being waaay out there, you know.
"Wow. We're that high?" I asked.
"Well, it's just that you're both too normal. Nobody is that normal. That makes you weird."
Wait. Hold on right there. I was dumbfounded.
"You plan everything," he explained. He should have stopped here.
"You're not spontaneous," he added. "And you don't have any really bad habits," he sighed. Translation: B-O-R-I-N-G
Everything I'd always learned about parenting went out the window. We embarrass our children because we are, GASP, normal!
I found myself trying not to laugh but my face betrayed my amusement. I had to explain my reaction to my baffled son. Of course he is way too young to get it.
The gist is that we make a Herculean effort to do the right thing raising these three not-so-maintenance-free children. We attempt to be sensible and we work hard. We value our faith and our country, pay our bills, encourage our kids to save and plan for their futures. We don't think we do anything horribly offensive (but who does?), except that chronically late problem we're working on. We truly enjoy being married to each other. Oh, and my husband flosses his teeth regularly.
(Important note: Like everyone else, we make lots of mistakes because we really don't know what we're doing.)
Yes, our lack of dysfunction has rocketed us toward the top of the weirdness scale. Get over it, son. The boy has nothing juicy to write about in his memoirs. Excuse me for not being distressed.
In truth, we're rejoicing over this revelation, albeit it's a little unsettling that "normal" is the new "weird". And really, if he can characterize a writer and an engineer as normal, who is he hanging out with at school?
If you want to see really weird, find a copy of Audrey Wood's Weird Parents (Picture Puffins). My son's godmother gave him this spectacularly amusing picture book when he was just a toddler. I think she had a prophetic instinct.
But why fight this? We are weird and we know it! We are weird and we are proud! All of you weird parents out there, celebrate what makes you unique. You, too, are normal!
Share your weird parenting stories by emailing us at editor@inspiredmother.com
