“Age-Appropriate Normality”
“New normal” is a term we bandy ’round;
But it applies to me – with age, I’ve found
As I grow older, what’s appropriate
For each new age and stage can also shift.For what is “Normal” for the new-born child,
Is not for teen, with actions rough and wild;
Or for refinement wrought in social years;
Gut-wrenching loss in war-time’s flood of tears.And now, as age shifts normal one more time
“New normal” takes a while to be defined;
A range it is, not point upon some scale –
Which bides a while, ’till change once more prevails.I heard of woman I once knew, who died;
She fought to overcome, kin by her side,
’Till she could see this battle she would lose;
Then settled back – “End well”, she then could choose.So too with each amidst each shifting stage –
“New normals” soon emerged to match our age
With hopes of brand new possibilities,
Which eases pain, and grief for old, relieves.For “Old” refers not just to ending part,
But also to “the former” – since the start
Of life – placenta, womb, spent “swimmingly” –
Old ways of life cast off to new life see.So Lord, as we see dawn arrive once more,
And sense a stage behind some fast-closed door,
Help us accept “New normal” with fresh eyes,
As door ahead now opens – not despise –What’s new for us, despite society,
Who’s always got a way in which they see
The “Other” as inferior to “Me” –
Help all accept “New normal” they could be.Thanks Lord for this.
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