Return to Normal???

January 9, 2008
I'm sure everyone is spending time trying to get your house/life back to normal after the holidays. I still have a box and cooler full of dishes that my mother gave to my daughter. Mother thinks that it is critical that all of her grandchildren have a nice set of china. At this point, I believe she has purchased about 17 sets of china!!! She is finding that she does not have enough cabinet space to accommodate all of it so she is giving each grandchild their set. My daughter lives in an apartment with a small kitchen - no room for china!! I have made two or three suggestions as to where she needs to put her china to store it. So far, it is still in the breakfast room floor (11 days later). She is afraid that it could get chipped or broken if it is just put on cabinet shelves.
There is an extra computer set up on the dining room table complete with orange extension cord draped across the floor. It is hard to believe that with two laptops and two desk computers (one with Windows XP and one with Windows Vista) we still need one more set up on the dining room table. There are only 3 people living here.
There are still piles of mail on the kitchen island. No one has moved theirs – thrown any away or taken it to their room or even their apartment. I'm sure it will all live on the island until I decide to get rid of it. Even though I have put our names, etc. on the lists to not receive all of those pre-approved credit cards - we still get them daily. Often 4 of the same kind addressed to each of us. So many trees are being destroyed just to tell us that we can have a credit card to spend more money that we don't have to get into more debt and do more damage to our already struggling economy.
I know I have promised myself to turn everything into a positive! Hmmmm! I am thrilled that: my 80 something mother still has the health, time and energy to select china for her 10 grandchildren; we are fortunate enough to be able to afford an extra computer; we still live in a free country where we can have the choice to receive mail and offers of pre-approved credit cards.
I have finally decided that I have to relax and be patient – my house is not going to go back to normal all in one day. Maybe not in 1 month or even 1 year!!
Now I have wonder what is "normal"? Will I ever be considered NORMAL? Would I want to be "normal"?
HOW BORING!