What Is Normal?

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     Lita wasn't back from the planning meeting yet, but Tess was a little winded from the cold excursion. Bright made them all cups of hot cocoa while Win set up Nimona on the TV for them to watch. Like any other child, Tess would find a movie she liked and watch it on repeat for weeks before moving on to a new one. Her two current obsessions were The Sea Beast and Nimona. Win could quote them both at this point since she'd watched them both so many times over the past month.

     Win and Tess curled up on the couch and Bright brought them all steaming mugs of hot cocoa with marshmallows and gingerbread in them and passed them out before settling on the couch on the other side of Tess. Tess had her head curled up on Win's chest, but had left her arm to the side, so her hand rested on Bright's arm.

     One of the prominent storylines in Nimona had a turbulent romance between a same-sex couple where they had a simple kissing scene towards the end of the movie and even though they weren't at that point in the film yet, Tess and Win had seen i...

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     One of the prominent storylines in Nimona had a turbulent romance between a same-sex couple where they had a simple kissing scene towards the end of the movie and even though they weren't at that point in the film yet, Tess and Win had seen it enough times to know it was in there. Win liked the depiction because it was normal. It wasn't overdone or underdone; it was a simple storyline that fluctuated into the overall theme and left the movie kid-friendly while also normalizing the concept of same-sex couples. They were only about halfway through the movie when Tess looked at her dad. "You know Trevor from my class back at home? He says that boys kissing boys isn't normal," she said.

     Win ran his fingers through her hair and kissed her lightly on the head

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     Win ran his fingers through her hair and kissed her lightly on the head. "We've talked about this word normal before, Tess. There are too many people who have different normals for there to actually be a normal. When people say things like that you have to think about what is normal to you and remember that your normal is different from other people's normal. It's not your job to accept other people's normals anymore than it's your job to force your normal onto others."

     Tess nodded. "I think I understand. Like I've seen Uncle Tay and Uncle New together and that's normal. And I've seen mommies and daddies together and they were normal. But when I see you and mommy together, it's not normal. But if Trevor doesn't have people like Uncle Tay and Uncle New around him, then it wouldn't be a normal thing for him to see."

     Win furrowed his brow. "Well, yes, that's what I meant, but why would you find other mommies and daddies being together normal, but not your mom and I?"

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