on other blogs

Recently, I stumbled across this post at the blog Single Dad Laughing.  (It's worth a read...and by that, I mean you NEED to read it.)

I've been kicking societal ideals of normalcy in the shin ever since.  I mean, it's not like I wasn't already, but I was all hush-hush about it (for some reason that now I can't really remember).  If people came over unexpectedly and my house was a mess, I made up some excuse to satisfy the judgmental thoughts I assumed they must be thinking.  I felt terrible if I didn't make dinner often enough--not because I cared, or Ricky cared (Ricky has got to be the most laid-back guy that ever was), but because someone, somewhere, had made dinner-making a big deal and I wasn't living up to whatever standard had been imagined.

I see this even more with parents and children and the thousands of medications taken all around.  Your child hates math?  There's a pill for that.  Your child can't sit still for 30 minutes?  He's not normal.  Your daughter doesn't interact well with other children?  She must need therapy. 

There are, of course, situations in which professional help--for children and adults alike--is necessary, but I can't imagine it's to the extent to which we make it.  What is "normal," anyway?  What if mild ADD is normal?  What if it's normal to be depressed every now and again?  Who made these arbitrary rules and why do we make ourselves sick trying to adhere to them?  It goes beyond being thin/pretty/smart and permeates nearly everything.

Anyway, that's all in Single Dad Laughing.  I, however, would like to respond to that blog with this one: Why I'll Never Be An Adult

My house isn't always clean.  I absolutely do not wash my dishes every day.  My bookshelves are pristine and my closet is not.  I procrastinate most everything until the last possible moment.  Furthermore, I am totally ok with all of this.  Ricky is totally ok with all of this. 

The point here is that you should never feel bad for not living up to some fabricated societal standard--ever.  If you're comfortable with who you are, then you are normal.  Congratulations.

Also, that Hyperbole and a Half post is dang funny.  I hope you read it. :)