hi missdel,
I question the normality of my family i have a job that requires meeting people and their families i'm forever looking whether this is what a "normal" family looks like and i have to say i have never found one that seems to fit, probably because i couldn't answer what my idea of normal is or looks like, every family i have met seems to have their weird ways some more than others. I met a man who told his family he loved them hundreds of times over a day to someone who wouldn't visit their dying mother in their own words they didn't want to make two trips they would come for the funeral. Its really opened my eyes that the ideal family doesn't seem to exist,well i haven't found it yet.

One thing I've learned is that if your family is happy, nobody cares how weird it is. But if your family is unhappy, nobody cares how normal it might seem on the outside.

What makes a family happy? People who know how to care about each other and enjoy being together. Nothing else really seems to matter.

I could write a book about how weird my family is... they are above average weird...

yes, everybody's family IS wierd. some wierder than others, but all are wierd in their own big or little way(s).

Then again, what exactly IS normal?

I just returned from a rather calm family dinner. It was plagued with cursing, f-bombs were dropped multiple times per sentence from a few family members, there was an explosive argument resulting in my aunt and uncle leaving before dinner was even served. However, nothing got broken and no one got hit, so all in all, it was a rather mellow dinner.

Weird and Dysfunctional? For sure. But then again, I've heard the phrase "we put the FUN in disFUNctional" many times, and think that it likely applies to more families than not!

Sometimes it is the families that seem normal that you have to worry about. Perfect in a family or any social circle is just not possible. So really it is about understanding and/or learning to understand the imperfections of every soul that counts - family or otherwise.

gt