Just Like A Normal Person

/ Diane Henders

This has been a seriously weird week for me.  For the first time in three years, I don’t have anything to write.

That’s not to say I don’t have work in progress; I do.  I’ve begun planning Book 7 of my series, and Book 6, “A Spy For A Spy” is with my editors.  My next blog compilation, “Definitely Inappropriate” is scheduled for mid-May.

But this week, there wasn’t any actual writing to be done for any of those projects.

I don’t know what to do with myself.  Seven days a week I’m up between six and six-thirty and at my desk by eight, cup of tea in hand.  I usually stay submerged until ten o’clock at night, with occasional breaks for meals and meetings and family/social responsibilities and workouts at the gym.

But this week, I’ve been dealing with my business email and bookkeeping, reading the news and a few blog posts, and then wandering aimlessly away from the computer by nine or ten AM because there’s nothing left to do.

I’ve read eight books in three days.  I’ve baked bread and cookies and made granola and three kinds of soup in addition to our usual meals.  I’ve listened to music and done some sewing and gone to the gym and gone for walks.  I’ve done jigsaw puzzles online and surfed YouTube for hours, digging out obscure Dr. Hook videos from the 70s.

I’ve planned a trip and organized the tools I’ll need to install a hardwood floor at my step-mom’s house in April.  I’ve worked on marketing campaigns for my books.  I’ve cut Hubby’s hair (yes, he asked me to – I’m not quite desperate enough to force him into something like that).  I’ve even *gasp* watched a couple of movies.

And I’ve left the house and actually interacted with other human beings, too.  I went to a car show and a blues jam and to the pub with friends.

Even after all that, I’m still wandering around like a lost soul.  I keep trailing back to the computer in case some important task has materialized while I was gone.

I guess this is what it’s like to be “normal”.  I’m doing my best to relax into it, but I have a sense of impending doom.  I feel as though I’ve forgotten to do something really, really important and soon disaster will strike because of my negligence.

It reminds me of one of my trips to the doctor many years ago.  After a battery of lung-function tests, the specialist smiled at me and said, “You act just like a normal person.”

I said, “Can I get that in writing?”

But on later reflection, I realized he hadn’t actually said I was normal.  He only said I fake it convincingly.

So I’m faking it for all I’m worth this week, but normalcy clearly doesn’t suit me.  I can hardly wait to go back to communing with the voices in my head for hours a day.

If I was a normal person, I might be worried about that…

Is anybody else living a “normal” life?  Tell me, what’s it like?

* * *

Woohoo!  The cover for Book 6 is ready!  Check it out on my Books page.

28 thoughts on “Just Like A Normal Person”

  1. I’ve been found a project on normality for English. All about what is normal, am I normal (which I’m defiantly not) and why not. I reached the conclusion that it is a paradox. (Or normal just doesn’t exist). I’m not normal. No one is normal. Therefore it’s normal to be not normal. So does that make me normal? Any ideas on this topic would be greatly appreciated as it is still an on going project… Thanks. But, not normal is normal because normal doesn’t exist. Can you see why this is so confusing?

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      • I really hope you don’t mind, but I’ve used this post as part of my analysis and investigation into the topic… it was so much more fun than the psychology repots…

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        • LOL! I don’t mind at all, and the thought of being included (even peripherally) in a study of normalcy tickles my funnybone. As far as I’m concerned, all human behaviors are points along a continuum, and the segment of the continuum that is considered ‘normalcy’ is defined entirely by the microcosm of society that surrounds us. Even during the same time period, ‘normalcy’ is different in each culture, and ‘normalcy’ evolves as societies change – ‘normal’ a hundred years ago was considerably different than ‘normal’ now, and in a hundred years, our ‘normal’ will likely be considered weird. So we’re not abnormal, we’re just progressive thinkers… 😉

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  2. Oh..you’re definitely normal Diane! Anyways who’s to say that what most think is normal is actually normal!!! Mhmmm…
    Sometimes…it’s just our way of taking a break because it’s just time to do so…it’s like hibernating..to get back our strength or creativity or..you know w/ever else we need 🙂

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  3. I think normal people watch television, a lot. And they spend the rest of the day on Facebook, telling everyone what they did when they weren’t watching television or on Facebook.

    What kind of cookies?

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    • I almost considered watching television. And then getting on Facebook to tell people what I watched on television…

      Three kinds of cookies: Chocolate chip, ginger-molasses, and oatmeal-raisin. Yum!

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  4. Define normal.
    My goal in life is to emulate the character Dunbar, Yossarian’s friend in Catch 22. Dunbar’s chief goal was to prolong his life to whatever extent possible, often by cultivating boredom.
    On that basis, I have not only cultivated normal, I’ve perfected it.

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  5. Sorry that you’re at loose ends. For you. Kinda. My envy of all you get done in a day (wow) is getting in the way of my sympathy, I do believe. 🙂

    I am doing a happy dance because the reason you’re at loose ends is that Book 6 is with your editors!!! That means I only have to stall myself a little while longer before I can treat myself and read Book 5, knowing that Book 6 is just around the corner.

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  6. Hi Diane

    If you’re really short on things to fill up your time our garage could do with something of a tidy. The lawn and trees would be pretty please recipients of a little TLC as well. I mention this only because I care for your wellbeing, not because I’m in any way behind on my never-ending list of chores. Really 😉

    If you’re not going to take me up on my offer, then please make the most of that extra time!

    Cheers!

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    • I’m laughing, but to be perfectly honest I’d love to be out working on lawn and trees, even if they were somebody else’s. It snowed again here today.

      If I promise to work on your yard, will you pay for my airfare down there? 😉

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  8. Hmm…looks like my first comment attempt didn’t take. (Not your fault. WordPress blogs hate me, for some reason. I suspect I smell like Blogger to them.)

    Anyway, I was just saying you must be a cyborg, because no human could have that much energy. 😉

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    • Weird. For some reason I have to retrieve “Linda Grimes” from spam, but “lindagrimes” comes straight through. WordPress is bizarre.

      Regarding the “cyborg” comment: I’ll never tell. (Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated.) 🙂

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  11. Wow, I’m exhausted just reading about what you do in your ‘normal’ life. Eight books in three days–that’s fantastic!

    Next week is spring break for us, so starting Saturday, I’m on vacation and plan to do very little online. Where are we going? No where. We’re staying home to spring clean. Lots of closets and cupboards need attention. I bet you can imagine how thrilled my kids are about this.

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