Is There Such a Thing As a Normal Family?

Dear Kid,

I’ve decided there is no such thing as a normal family.

Based on my Advanced Degree in Life and my Keen Observational Powers, I have come to the conclusion that just about all families are dysfunctional.

More to the point, pretty much every family has dysfunctional pieces even if someone had to get married to include them. And since pretty much every family has dysfunction, dysfunction is the new normal. Which means that what was once considered “normal” is now a teeny tiny minority. And a teeny tiny portion of the population can’t possibly be considered normal.

So we’re all a little looney.

Like most continuums, it’s just a matter of how looney each particular branch of the tree happens to be.

Or who has taken up residence in the branches.

And how whether the dysfunctional parts include members who can’t even masquerade as functional.

I suspect this has always been true, but we as a society are more likely to talk about it these days rather than relegating Weird Uncle Harold to the torn armchair and pretending he’s an anomaly.

It’s a perspective thing.

Love, Mom