My (ab)Normal life! (A short story)

Sometimes I wonder if it is the other way around? How could it be that the whole world is not normal? The easier option would be that I am not normal. But however hard I try to convince myself, I still feel that the whole world is mad and I am the only sane person living.

Well, it has not always been like this. Not long ago I felt like I was a part of this world. I felt a sense of belonging that came from being brought up in this world by a set of parents whose sole purpose in life seemed to be able to make their child fit well into this jigsaw of a world hopefully somewhere in the top echelons.

For a while I did exactly what was expected of me. I was an A grade student, which satiated my parent's appetite for being clubbed into the elite club of parents who raise extremely successful kids! I fell in love with a fellow classmate, one who was beautiful as well as extremely smart and intelligent. Once again that seemed to fall in place with the plan I thought I had architected for myself. A plan that would ensure great financial success, a solid marriage that would foster love and happiness, a career to would earn respect as well as professional satisfaction, a legacy to continue this plan in the form of kids who would allow me to join the elite club to which my parents were now life time members.

This is how life went on. Everywhere I went, I was envied. My life was sought after. My lectures valued. My wife admired. My children successful. Yes, everything was normal. But there was one thing that was not normal and that was me.

Life did not hold a charm anymore. The envious looks of people embarrassed me. My lectures which I thought defined my thinking seem to following the pattern of my life - they were getting repetitive. My wife morphed from being a stunning creature who I adored to just another human being who I accepted. My children had their own lives, their own ideas, their own successes and their own plans and I was actually thankful for that and not all bleary eyed unlike my 'normal' wife who never missed a chance to lament about how our children were deserting us. (read growing up!).

Normalcy was getting very boring. Life had come to a standstill. I was yearning to break out of it. I grew restless. I confided in some of my closest acquaintances. (I refused to consider anyone my friend. That was another part of me not being normal!)

"Take a vacation" one of them suggested. Vacation where? We had been to every nook of the world. The wonders of the world ceased to enthrall. The adventures did not hold the same thrill.

"Take a break" another one interjected. Break from being normal? How did one do that? Be not normal for a couple of weeks and be back to being normal all over again?

"Maybe you need a shrink". That suggestion amused me no end. The idea that someone else could analyze my feelings and my issues better than I could never ceased to make me smile.

Soon the advisors grew weary of giving advice. Slowly I was relegated to being a little whacky! Another definition for not being normal. That was actually a kind of relief to me. I did not need to pretend to be normal anymore. My wife actually believed I was going crazy and left me alone most of the time. Yes the rants, the lamentations would still break my peace, but neither was I held responsible for being sympathetic nor was I expected to come up with a solution to ward off everything sinister that was tormenting her in like 5 minutes. After all I was a genius in my professional life, so how could I be so dumb when it came to my personal one? Now that I was termed a not normal human being, I was allowed to be just that. Ah! The relief.

My children would grow quiet when I was around and did not seem to give me the immense satisfaction of taking care of my grand kids who normally would be a grandpa's cutest playthings. For me they were pests, plain and simple! So you can imagine my delight at this chain of events.

My friends would smile more and talk less in my company. My audience seemed to be more amused at my lectures and I did not miss the sly glances going around when I said something that was deemed out of the ordinary. It seemed like the world and I had come to the same conclusion about each other at the same time - that neither of us was normal.

Armed with this knowledge, I strode forward. No longer did I have to keep up the pretense. No longer did I have to adhere to a regimen. I could skip important (but very boring) family get-together's, did not have to offer any excuses for not remembering an important date in someone else's life, could give lectures without preparation and just ramble. Yes not being normal was a whole lot of fun than being the norm.

If you don't believe me, try it!