We are normal... just a bit different that's all.

I think most people would find our 'normal' pretty weird or scary, exhausting or tedious. They might also find it funny and full of love but it depends which way you look at it. And I can look at it from different angles many times each day.

Normal today was watching my son have an epileptic fit three times, his little body shaking all over. Normal is getting his 8 year old sister to rush for the emergency medicine bag, and grab a towel to mop up the saliva.

Normal in our family involves carefully calibrating each activity to decide whether or not little monkey can cope with it - and whether we can cope with his behaviour. There is no spontaneity; instead everything needs to be thought-out and planned, with a back up in case it goes wrong.

I guess some people would be annoyed to hear him repeat the same sentence over and over - sometimes 50 times a day. They might be horrified to learn that he still uses nappies - especially if I asked them to change one. But all this is normal to us.

Some things about our 'normal' are just great - the joy when he learns a new skill, the fun we have dancing round the living room, the happiness in his little face when one of us return home. Best of all are the endless stream of hugs and kisses from our little man - now there's not many 'normal' 7 year old boys who want to hug and kiss their Mum eh?!

To us all these things are so normal that we don't even notice them anymore, and I've come to realise they are just a variation. I have always said that my son is normal, just a little bit different to other kids. And this life is normal even if most people wouldn't recognise it as such.

Thanks to Renata B at Just Bring the Chocolate for starting the #definenormal blog-hop - please check out more posts on the subject by clicking on the links at her website. http://www.justbringthechocolate.com/blog/