I was talking to Bill last Wednesday night about something that came up with Kim. He asked me why I was explaining the situation to him. Actually, it is something that has continued to be a common thread, and is a consequence of bipolar disorder. I explained that I thought he should be aware of what had just occurred. He gently replied, “Honey, it’s our normal.” He is so right! We have what we call our “our normal.” It sure isn’t what we thought it would be, but it is definitely okay. Bill and I have accepted the fact that life has not turned out as we thought it would, and that works for us. It took us several years to get to this point, however we did, and I am proud of both of us for reaching this time in our lives together. Instead of running when things get tough we readjust, and try to remain neutral knowing that some things we just can’t change. However, we can adjust. Adjust is what we have done. I am proud that we have done this together. I admit that there have been many times that instead of running from an extremely challenging situation we actually have collided. We are both different people. Yes, Bill is male and I am female but it’s more than that. We each have our own ideas on how we think things should be in regards to our kids as well as a multitude of other life situations and events, but somehow we have met in the middle. We have reached a consensus. That consensus is that we have what we call “our normal.” I love “our normal” actually. It means that we are still together as a couple and therefore we are still together as a family. Our strength hopefully will help Paul, Kim and Katlin continue to move through life regardless of what comes our way. I have a motto I live by now. My motto is: remain neutral, readjust if necessary and remember it’s our normal. It isn’t just any normal. It’s “our normal.”