When Different becomes the Same

Do you remember that first time that you went to WalMart and saw a person in sweat pants out doing their grocery shopping on a thursday morning and you thought to yourself "hmm...that's kinda strange" but then now every time you go to WalMart you see a person in sweat pants and it's just normal?  You know what I'm talking about?

Or did I just make a really long run-on sentence and you have no clue where I'm going with this?

Well, that's kind of the way things have gotten for us. No...not the grocery shopping in our sweat pants.

The strange-stuff-is-normal part of the story.

Different isn't so different for us anymore. It's the same.

Ok. I'll stop being confusing now. Let me spell it out for you...

Make sense?!

Stuff like this has become normal for us. It's everyday. It's Same Same.

And I didn't realize that it had become our new normal until Brandon's parents and sister came for a visit and they started noticing these oddities.

Since when did it become normal in my world for cell phones AND Fruit Roll-Up to be sold in the same place?

And why don't I do a double take anymore when an elderly couple is waltzing to no music at the park?

How long have I been unaware that I'm taller than most of the "cars" around me?

and when did it become normal for me to buy cooked sweet potatoes out of a "trash barrel" at our local market? they smell so delish...I just can't resist it.

In our world, Same Same parking lots look more like this

and this

And I didn't realize my new world of normal-ness until I had some new eyes around me to see it through.

But then of course there are a few things that will never become normal. And I guess I hope they don't.

Asia trees will always be gorgeous and worthy of stopping to take pictures.

The sun shining. And on our apartment building, no less. It's glorious. I'll never take sunshine for granted again.

Incense burning. I pray it will never be normal to me. It's a good reminder that we've got a long way to go.

All of these photos are courtesy of Brandon's mom. Three new sets of eyes around me last week to notice the "different" in our normal world gave me insight into our version of "Same, Same, but Different."

But please, whatever you do. Don't start buying your groceries while wearing sweat pants. Trust me. It will never be the new normal.