- The O’Hagans aren’t Norman Rockwell, but we’re O.K.
There are a lot of reasons to love Google (oh, I am a Google fan-girl), but one of my favorite things about the company is the fact that it incorporates a certain whimsy into many of its applications. Today, the classic Google home page includes an iconic Saturday Evening Post cover composed by artist Norman Rockwell.
I was always intrigued by Norman Rockwell paintings for Saturday Evening Post covers; most of the time, they portray idealized family life, a life I was pretty sure “other” people must have had. Now that I have my own family, those idealized images are something to aspire to, even as the reality of my life lets me know it ain’t gonna happen on most days.
But I am so grateful for every member of my immediate and extended family. Especially my husband, who does more for humanity in a day than I do in a year. Yesterday, in addition to helping me get the kids into the car by 7 a.m. (and scraping the snow off of my car), he also brushed the snow off of one of our neighbor’s cars, helped a neighbor change a flat tire (in the snow), distributed about 75 new keys to the rest of our neighbors, voted in a primary election, went to the grocery store, picked up the kids from school and prepared their dinner. Oh, and he also worked all day at his real job at the Chicago Police Department.
In the midst of all of that activity, Patrick nearly came unglued when Liam’s teacher remarked that he (Liam) sure does drink a lot of toilet water. Yes, apparently my soon-to-be-three-year-old freaks out his teachers by putting his hand in the bowl after he flushes, and then licking his hand.
Disgusting? Yes. But, I was able to put this into perspective because I knew all of the things that Patrick had accomplished yesterday, and (in my mind) Liam licking toilet water off his hand was just a blip on the radar. For Patrick, who never has a chance to sit back and dwell on everything he accomplishes every day, the toilet was the last straw, so to speak.
So, my family isn’t a typical representation of Norman Rockwell family life, but we’re pretty good, we love each other, and I choose to appreciate the whimsy, not focus on the toilet bowl.