There is nothing like family life to keep a person humble—no matter how cool and hip and “put together” you are able to present to the world at large, when you get a group of people living together in the family space, you’re bound to be confronted with just how weird you can really be. Not to mention, as parents, we welcome these adorable little creatures into our hearts and homes—only to discover that they have some strange habits, and evolve into the occasional weirdos!
One of my daughters came into the kitchen this morning as I was finishing loading the dishwasher and feeding the cats—singing an impromptu operetta of my own creation all the while: “You’re so weird,” she mumbled as she got herself a bowl of oatmeal. This coming from the teenager who spent last night wrapped up in her favorite blanket watching cartoons.
The greatest thing, I think, about the family scene is that if we are reasonably healthy and functional at it—we get to let our hair down and truly be ourselves and know that we are loved and cherished regardless. No pretenses, no having to act or be perfect, just messy, flawed, and extraordinarily typical human beings with all our flaws and faults and weird quirks. I know that personally, I had not experienced that feeling of truly being able to relax and be myself until I had worked to create and build this funky little family of mine. Since I did not grow up in one of those households were one could fully be herself, I was determined to try to do that for my kids. Little did I know how weird we would all really be!
So, I think if we’re doing this family thing right, we all get to be a little weird, and that is a good thing!
Also: Can You REALLY Make Them Do Things They Don’t Want to Do?
Unconventional Kids, Unconventional Parents
How Much of This is Personality?