Being Average and Inspiring

You know what one of the greatest things in the world is to be?  Normal.  To just be an average person living an average life, doing the average things every day is one of the greatest things in the world.  Things like getting up every day and getting dressed all by yourself, going to a job or career of your choosing, feeding yourself whatever you like, watching or playing in a ballgame, maybe coaching your kids, maybe just playing in the yard with them, cutting the grass, walking the dog, doing the dishes and yes, even cleaning the house.  There is great joy in living an average, normal life.

It doesn’t sound very exciting to aspire to be average, does it?   Doing normal things doesn’t sound very inspiring, either.  There have been times when I truly could not cook for my family and they had to carry me Gatorade or help me around.  Being able to cook a good meal is the most awesome feeling in the world.  And, family to help out without complaining when I’m not quite up to it myself is also inspiring.

Every day that I can be average, normal, is truly a gift.  It’s a new inspiration. Another opportunity to work, play and choose happiness.  And if I can do that in spite of having more than one chronic illness and an ileostomy then can’t everyone?  Each day doesn’t turn out like I plan but each day, I try.

For so many people, it is only when they can’t do these normal, average things that they realize just how great that life is really.    This is fuel for me.  I want to wake people up not only to arthritis, IBD, Celiac Disease and living with an ostomy but also to just how great living a normal, average life really is and what that means.  I want everyone to appreciate those days while they are living them not when they are looking back on them.   If people living normal, average lives can appreciate their own, then maybe they will cheer for me when I have a normal day.   And maybe they will be more understanding when I am not having an average day and need a little extra help.