"This is Not Normal"

When we were leaving the gym one Friday, our coach said to us, "you know this is not normal. People your age are not doing what you just did". She is right, there aren't a lot of senior groups over 55 doing the type of workout that we do. What is normal about us is that every class we show up early, and we are always ready when the class starts. We do what we are asked to do, and we always work as hard as we can. We make sure everything is back as we found it, and we simply admire each other's ability. That is a definition of normal senior behavior.   

A well-known businessman in the community just competed at the World's CrossFit Competition in Columbus, Ohio. He made the top 10 in the world and was invited to compete in the 2025 Age-Group CrossFit Games. He finished fourth in his division, that means he is the fourth fittest over 70-year-old male in the world. To put the work and time into such an aggressive work out is not normal for someone that is over 70. 

I get my eggs from a friend. She recently got new hens; she said the eggshells will be colored. Well, here is my first order from the new hens. The eggs look like the easter bunny just delivered them. The picture is the true color of the eggs. To me these eggs are not normal, although they taste like normal eggs.  

"What's normal" is defined as conforming to a general pattern, standard or average. What is normal to some people is not normal to others.    

Sadly, many people have had to learn a "new normal" or a new way of living. They are faced with a crisis or a change in their life, and life as they knew it will never be the same. Developing a new norm usually comes with a great deal of sadness and a tremendous amount of work.   

For me, if I don't want to do something, I think of it as "not normal", in a good way, of course. For example, I have a good friend whose walking goal for the year is to walk the equivalent kms as it would take to walk across Canada. Another friend is still teaching at the University as she closes in on 80. To them that is a normal thing to do in a day. I admire their ability but as you know I'm not a walker, and I am certainly not going to work at a job. With that said, I know there are things that I do, that others would consider not normal and would never do.    

I encourage you to just take a moment and think, "what is my not normal thing that I do, that I think of as normal?". It is often a positive thing that you bring into your life, and the lives of others. Whatever it is keep doing it, people admire "not normal". One of my Dad's favorite sayings was, "it takes all kinds".