Yesterday was a normal Saturday. I woke up around 6 but got out of bed around 6:30. I made some coffee and had my quiet time. After lunch I did my laundry, then we went grocery shopping. It was a great day.
What I didn’t mention was I woke up around 6 because our neighbors were washing dishes outside but it sounds more like they are dropping dishes off the roof. I got out of bed because my two inch sleeping pad has a hole in it and by morning I am pretty much sleeping on the floor.
My coffee is instant and quiet time means putting in headphones and closing my eyes so I feel alone even though I’m not. Lunch was a choice between instant noodles or peanut butter and jelly. I chose a spoonful of peanut butter.
I did my laundry in a tub. Scrubbing a little, but mostly just trying to make them smell better. I never really know if my clothes are clean, but at least they don’t smell like spit up or poop or whatever else the babies managed to spill in me.
Getting to the grocery store started with finding an auto, the driver of which may or may not know where we are going. We negotiated a price and after about five almost accidents, lots of honking and even more gaping stares, we made it. We finally got a fridge at our house, so we could finally buy cheese, which means grilled cheese can be added to our lunch menu. Of course it is water buffalo cheese because we are in India and cows are sacred. Same same right?
All this may sound like I am complaining. I’m not. I love every bit of everyday. But after seven months it has become normal. The trip that seemed so crazy for so long is my everyday life. Seeing men peeing on the side of the road, the water shutting off in the middle of my shower and speaking in broken English so maybe the store owner will understand me, are all normal. “The. Bananas. Bad. You. Have. Different. Fruit?”
I came on the Race to avoid normal, how did I end up living in it? My only answer is, nothing is normal if you look for the abnormal. There is always something different about everyday and every person. If we just take the time to find it we will discover a beauty we would have never known existed.
No matter where we live, India or Indiana, Turkey or Texas life will eventually seem mundane. The things that excited us at first will fade away and the everyday stresses of life will invade our vision. But what if that didn’t have to happen? What if we intentionally noticed the things that make life beautiful? God didn’t create a normal world. Why do we treat it like it is?
So today, find the abnormal, the different, and the strange. Don’t live a normal day.
